Salazar's Curse
by Escritor
Summary: When a curse pushes Draco and Ginny together, Ginny is sure life will be horrible... But could Ginny teach Draco a few things about love? And vice versa? COMPLETE!
1. Part I, Of the Past

_Nearly one thousand years ago, France_

In the beginning, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin had a dream. Their dream was to create a school where young people of the wizarding world could study and be trained in the magical arts they needed to become strong, fully-trained witches and wizards. Each created their own house that worked together to form Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

For a number of years, their arrangement worked fine. Each of the founders selected a few students to be in their own house, and despite their differences, they learned to create a way where no matter the person's character, the student would find a place in the world. However, the differences between Gryffindor and Slytherin began tearing the school apart. Eventually, Salazar Slytherin left the school to find peace and quiet -- far away from Godric Gryffindor and his silly ideas.

However, Slytherin could not get away for long. Salazar's grandchild, Andasar, came to him with the news of his marriage -- to Godric's granddaughter. Salazar was outraged and, at the wedding, vowed there would be a curse on Andasar's family. When Andasar and his wife had a daughter a few months later, Slytherin swore that as long as a Gryffindor woman lived, their lives would be tormented.

Andasar and his wife, Fayebris, escaped with their daughter to France where, they hoped, Salazar would never find them. They only told one person of their whereabouts -- Andasar's father, Draconis. Draconis, however, betrayed his son and told his father exactly where Andasar and Fayebris were. (In more recent years, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy decided to name their son Draco after the 'noble' acts of Draconis Slytherin.)

Years later, Elye married a man named Johnathan Prewitt, whom she met when she was shopping for her grandmother. Together, they had three children: Molly, Gideon, and Fabian Prewitt. Andasar's aunt Rudena married Brutus Black and had a son named Phineas. But the most important story, the story that ties everything together, is the story of Salazar Slytherin's rage towards all Gryffindor women; the rage that would carry over a thousand years.

The sky was dark and the atmosphere was bleak as Salazar Slytherin walked around the streets of France. His wife, Alasia, struggled to keep up with him as the wind blew at top speed around the pair.

"Salazar, you don't have to do this!" She yelled, pulling her dark, forest green hood over her head as she chased him. "Why don't we just leave them be?"

Salazar stopped and threw a look of disgust towards his wife. "Are you suggesting I just let them stay alive in their _filthy little family_? Are you suggesting I let them continue to r_eproduce_ while they continue to ruin my bloodline?"

Alasia looked down at her hands. "No, Salazar, I'm not saying that, but --"

"For two years -- _two years_ -- I have let them live. One year with their daughter. And today, that year is up."

Salazar continued walking at a faster rate to the large mansion up ahead. Alasia stopped following and let a tear trickle down her face as she imagined what would happen in the coming moments to her son and great granddaughter.

"Grandfather," Andasar greeted, opening the door to his mansion. He knew exactly why his father was there, and exactly what would happen in the moments to come. He had done everything he could to ensure the safety of his family, but it was no use. They were all to die.

"Andasar," Salazar replied.

He patronizingly glanced around the mansion before stepping inside; it would be a great place to live after it was expelled of its _former_ residents.

"How is your_ lovely _wife?" Salazar asked, running his bony finger over the dusty mantlepiece on the right side of the wall. "And daughter? She's two years now, isn't she?"

Andasar felt a knot begin to start in his stomach, but knew he had to remain strong. If he were to try and run, he would only be killed faster. He had to have dignity.

"Fayebris is... fine. And Elye..."

Salazar let the tips of his mouth curl upward into a sneer. "_Let me see them._"

Andasar nodded, walked to the large staircase, and called, "_Fayebris... _Come down here please?"

Fayebris was upstairs, finishing the end of a letter. Once she was done, she looked at her daughter, whose wide blue eyes stared at her.

"_Believe, _my love," she whispered, kissing the top of her red-haired head. "_Believe_. It won't get any easier unless you believe it will."

"_Fayebris..._ Come down here please?"

Fayebris took the letter she was writing and folded it up neatly, then pinned it to the back of her daughter's nightgown. She took a deep breath, grabbed her wand, and whispered, "_Silencio._"

"Fayebris?"

She knew she'd have to hurry. "I love you, Elye, so much..." With a pop, she apparated to her mother's house, quickly, leaving her on her mother's stairs. She apparated back just in time for Salazar and Andasar to walk through the door.

"_Where. Were. You_?" Salazar asked, carefully looking around the room.

"I was upstairs when I heard Andasar calling," she explained, looking her husband in the eye. "It's so difficult to run down the stairs, so I just simply... apparated."

Andasar glanced from Fayebris to Salazar and sighed.  
"Please, Salazar. Just get this over with."

Salazar shook his head. "Not without the child."

"Salazar... the child has been killed already."

Salazar looked at Andasar. "_What_?"

"Godric has already killed her," Andasar replied, a tear falling down his eye at the thought.

"Well, then. Less for me to do. _Avada Kedavra!_"

As Andasar and Fayebris slowly fell to the ground, Salazar knew that Elye was, in fact, alive. The human mind was so easily deciphered when one is dying. Salazar's own mind was filled with pure hatred as he though of his great-grandaughter living on the earth.

Salazar spent the last years of his life trying to find Elye, until one day he knew he would surely die. As he prepared to pass on, he used the last bit of power in his body to send a curse raging through every unmarried Gryffindor woman that had come and every one that would be: unless she married a slytherin man before age eighteen, she would be tormented and killed.

When Godric heard about the curse, he was outraged. He set his own curse on all Slytherins: Slytherins and Gryffindors would hate each other for the rest of their lives.

Through their hatred, they did not care who in their family died. The curse was hard to break, and there was no way to win. Godric knew this as he died, but somewhere in his mind he knew that sometime, the curse would work out for the best.

_Author's note: What do you think? Thought I'd try something new. BTW, Molly and Arthur were married by the time he sent the curse. Salazar lived quite a while didn't he ;x_


	2. Part II, Chapter One: The Engraved Snake

Chapter Two: Part II: Of the Present, Chapter 1

_Part II, Chapter One: The Engraved Snake_

_Present Day_

"Alright, good job, guys. That's all for today -- hit the showers."

A very tired (and sweaty) Ginny Weasley grunted in appreciation and began trudging to the girl's Quidditch showers with her teammates Flor and Emma.

"Is it just me," Flor was asking, "Or has Potter gotten more like Oliver every day?"

Emma nodded and moaned. "Ohhh, my _baccck_! Stupid Potter and his stupid drills with his stupid --"

"Relax," Ginny laughed.

"I agree. We should all just relax in a nice hot shower and calm down."

Ginny groaned as they began to take their heavy uniforms off in the locker room. When Ginny was down to her red shorts, however, Emma gasped loudly.

"Ginny! Since when did _you_ of all people get a tattoo?"

Ginny looked up. "What?"

Flor stood and took a glance at Ginny as well. "Ooh, Ginny Weasley the rebel!"

"What are you_ talking_ about? What 'tattoo'?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Right _there_!" She pointed to the area of skin just a bit below Ginny's knee. Ginny sat down, bent her knee, and looked at where Emma's finger was pointing. Beneath her manicured nail laid a small, green imprint of a snake.

Ginny's mind began reeling. Was there any way it could just be a scar? Ridiculous, Ginny reasoned, it's quite difficult to have a _distinct_ snake-shaped scar. A lightening bolt, maybe, but a _snake_? Was there any way she could have gotten drunk in the last 24 hours and could have possibly found some man to tattoo a snake on her knee? If she wanted anything, wouldn't it be something like a flower, or a heart, or 'HJP'?

"A snake... that's rather Slytherin of you, don't you think?" said Flor with a laugh. "You're on the enemy's side!"

Ginny stood up and looked in the full-length mirror on the other side of the room, hoping that the change of light would cause her 'scar' to disappear. If anything, it became darker, eerier. Without saying anything, she ran out of the changing room in nothing but her short-shorts and red cami, immediately feeling the piercing breeze as she ran towards the boy's changing rooms. She_ knew_ she had to tell Ron or Harry about this.

She felt something rough bump into her shoulder, but didn't take the time to see who or what it was. She did, however, hear a "Put some clothes on, Weasel!" from the bump-ee: Draco Malfoy. Instantly, the snake scar on her knee set out a searing burn throughout her whole body. She yelled out in pain as she fell to the ground, clutching her knee.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ she asked herself as she tried to get up. She looked to the right and saw Draco standing there, looking a bit off -- and not worried in the least.

"Go to hell, Malfoy, and get out of the way!" Ginny growled as she hobbled on her feet and began walking to the changing rooms.

"You go to hell first, Weasel!"

The pain rushed through her knee again and she fell back down, closing her eyes automatically. She felt herself fading out before she heard the voices of Emma and Flor calling Ron and Harry outside to see what was going on.

-----------------

Ginny woke up in unfamiliar surroundings, blinking away the sleep from her eyes. Her team, plus Neville and Hermione, were seated around her, eyeing her anxiously.

"She's up!" Hermione whispered, tapping the sleepers on the shoulders. "How are you doing, Ginny?"

"Fine, I guess..." Ginny replied slowly, looking around. Maybe her surroundings were unfamiliar after all: she realized she was in the infirmary. "What am I doing here? What happened?"

"You collapsed," Harry explained, sitting on the edge of Ginny's bed. "What were you doing out there, anyway?"

Ginny groaned as she finally began remembering what happened. "I was running to you guys, because..." She trailed off, noticing the group of unwanted guests in her room.

"Right," Ron said. "Get out, you lot! Out, out, Ginny says thanks for coming, now _out_!"

Once it was only Ron, Harry, and Hermione, Ginny began explaining about the snake on her knee and how it began burning when she ran to show Harry and Ron. She lifted the sheet up to her knee and showed them the scar and was shocked to find it was now twice as big.

"It's growing!" She shrieked. "I don't understand it!"

Hermione bit her lower lip and began to analyze the situation as Harry gripped Ginny's hand. Ginny felt her heart flutter as she blushed and looked up at Harry. Although the two had broken up last year, it was obvious that they still had feelings for one another. Ron swore to Ginny that he would make them get back together if it was the last thing he did.

"Ahh!" Ginny whimpered, writhing in her sheets. The pain was starting again, and now that the scar was bigger, the pain was more extreme. Harry grabbed a cool, wet napkin and lightly pressed it to Ginny's forehead. Slowly, the pain ceased, and Ginny stopped her screaming.

"Are you okay?" Madam Pomfrey asked, running into the room. "I heard you shouting."

Ginny nodded and brought the blanket back up to her chin. Quietly, Hermione tsk-ed the behavior. Once the nurse was out of the room, Hermione turned to Ginny.

"You should tell her, Ginny," Hermione scolded. "She's a nurse, she'll know what to -"

"No, Hermione," cut off Ginny. "I don't want to hear it. I'm not telling anyone."

Harry shook his head. "You're telling Dumbledore, Ginny. If anyone, have it be Dumbledore."

Ginny looked up at Harry, their eyes having their own, quiet battle.

_I'm not telling._

_Yes you are._

_I don't think so!_

I_ think so._

_What if I don't want to?  
What if I don't care?_

_What if I refuse?_

_What if I make you?  
You can't make me do anything!  
Ginny._

Ginny sighed. "Fine... but in the morning. It's nearly midnight, you guys should get back to the dorms."

The trio nodded and each said their goodbyes. After Ron and Hermione had left the room, Harry smiled and kissed Ginny on the forehead. She smiled back at him and, once Harry was a bit down the hall, she let out a loud gasp. The light, sweet gesture of a kiss on the head gave Ginny unbearable pain. And this time, it was more than just a heartbreak because she knew Harry was out of her reach.

This time, the pain was _real_.

-----------------

Professor Mcgonnagal walked into Dumbledore's office and lightly tapped on the door. "Albus? Ginevra Weasley is here to see you, and she says it's urgent."

Dumbledore nodded and Mcgonnagal disappeared to get the girl. Within seconds, she returned.

"Hello, Miss Weasley," he greeted. "Treacle tart?" He held up the bowl of candies in front of her face.

The redhead shook her head, not feeling much of an appetite.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "I have a painful scar on my knee in the shape of a snake, and I don't think it's normal."

Dumbledore moved his hands, urging her to continue.

"Well, it was after a Quidditch practice. I went into the changing rooms and the girl's noticed it before I did. That was the first I heard about it. It was... yesterday afternoon. I ran outside to tell Harry and Ron, but bumped into Draco. I tried to keep walking but the pain was so horrible in my knee, I had to stop. I dropped to the ground. I tried running again... but the pain came again, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the infirmary with everyone around me."

Dumbledore was silent and stared at the girl. Ginny tried to decipher his face, but for once, could not find an ounce of laughter in his smile or a gleam in his eye: the telltale signs that he knew what was going on, and that it would all be okay. This time, Ginny knew it was serious.

"Well," Dumbledore began, and then stopped. "Well," he tried again. "It seems as though..."

Ginny sighed. "Do you know what's wrong with me, Professor?"

Dumbledore looked at her in the eye. "Yes, I do."

"Then what --"

"Minerva?"

Within minutes, Professor Mcgonnagal was back in the room.

"Please send an owl to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow and tell them to come immediately, would you? And make it urgent?"

The old woman nodded and quickly sped to get parchment and quill, writing in her fancy scrawl the letter to Ginny's parents.

"Professor, what's going --"

"Please, Ginevra," Dumbledore sighed, bringing his hands to his head and pressing. "Wait until your parents arrive."

-----------------

"Well, what happened?" Hermione asked, seated in the scarlet couch by the fire in the Gryffindor commonroom, doing her weekend homework. Ron and Harry looked up at Ginny.

Ginny shook her head. "I don't know... Dumbledore wouldn't tell me."

"Wouldn't _tell_ you?" Hermione gasped. "The nerve!"

"Not till mum and dad get here, at least."

Ron nearly choked on his water. "Mum and dad are coming?"

"How serious _is_ it, Gin?" asked Harry, gripping his quill extremely tight.

"I'm... not sure," she said truthfully.

Ron scratched his head, ignoring Hermione. "I wonder what's going on... let us have a look at the scar again, Ginny?"

Hermione saw what was going on and opened her mouth. "Harry, your..."

Ginny nodded and lifted up her pant leg, making sure no one was around. Ron and Harry gasped at its size and Harry's fist tightened.

"Harry, your quill's about to --"

"This is insane, why won't Dumbledore help you?" With that last bit of anger, Harry's quill finally burst, sending ink all over his homework.

"-- explode," Hermione continued, shaking her head.

"Bloody hell!"

Ginny sighed, resisting the urge to laugh. "I should go upstairs, I'm a bit tired. If anyone comes asking for me, tell me, yeah?"

The trio nodded and began helping Harry clean up his mess-of-a-potion's essay.

-----------------

"Ginny? ... Ginny?"

Ginny opened her eyes and looked around; Hermione was leaning over her bed, shaking her shoulders.

"What?"

Hermione looked at her ink-stained hands. "Mcgonnagal says you're wanted in Dumbledore's office."

_Author's note: BWAHAHAHA! See, I'd call that a cliffhanger, but you all know what's going to happen, don't you? ...Well... maybe a select few with good reading comprehension do. Hehe. Thank you to the people who reviewed -- I'm not sure how to comment back or whatever, so don't think I'm just ignoring you!_

_PS: To the person who asked/commented about why Godric would set a curse... you'll find out in upcoming chapters._


	3. Part II, Chapter Two: No Regrets

Chapter Three: Part II, Chapter 2: No Regrets

_There is no future  
There is no past  
I live this moment  
As my last  
There's only now  
There's only this  
Forget regret  
Or life is yours to miss  
No other road  
No other day  
No day but today_

- Rent

Draco Malfoy paced around the outside of Dumbledore's office, anxious. Snape had just arrived and told him that Dumbledore needed to speak with him -- immediately. At first, he thought it was something great -- such as Dumbledore deciding that he was wrong, after all, to choose Neville Longbottom as Head Boy and that he truly wanted _Draco_ to be it.

But by the look on Snape's face, he knew it was anything but that.

"Why? What --"

"This is not the time for questions, Malfoy! Simply _go_!" Snape had yelled, shocking the rest of the students in the dungeon commonroom. Draco nodded reluctantly and climbed out, walking slowly to Dumbledore's office, hoping to keep the old man waiting a bit. The way he thought of it, _Dumbledore_ rudely interrupted _him_ (He was in the middle of a gross, but satisfying, makeout session with Pansy Parkinson), so Draco would delay _Dumbledore_. It was a vicious cycle, really.

Draco's plan had backfired, however, when Proffessor Mcgonnagal bustled out of the office and gave Draco a cold, "Don't you _dare_ move." What he had done to deserve the harshness from all his professors, he didn't know. He just hoped his mother didn't do something _stupid_ again.

-----------------

Ginny Weasley was nervous. Her scar wasn't hurting her, but she had a splitting headache. Her nerves were on end as she looked around at the corridor walls; it seemed as all the paintings were laughing at her agony. 'Ha-ha,' they were saying, 'You don't know what's going on, do you? We do! Ha-ha!' She wanted to rip those little oil paintings up and start a bonfire.

"Miss Weasley?"

Ginny spun around, wand drawn.

"Oh, Proffessor, it's just you!" Ginny said, taking a deep breath. Mcgonnagal glanced at Ginny's wand, then at Ginny. "Oh, sorry." She quickly put it away.

"That's quite alright. Follow me, please. Proffessor Dumbledore is waiting for you, as are your parents, and..."

Ginny coughed. "And?"

Mcgonnagal looked at her hands. "Well, we'll just get to that later. Come on, then."

Ginny followed her dumbly, feeling rather like a lost kitten following the first stranger it sees.

"But, Proffessor, what's --"

"Wait, Miss Weasley."

Ginny grumbled audibly and let herself be dragged away to her headmaster's office. As she walked, she let her mind wander to the many explanations Dumbledore could give, forcing herself to only think of funny ones.

'The only way you can survive is if Mr. Potter kisses you!' 'You must get married to the most handsome man in all of London!' 'You must --'

"We're here," Proffessor stated lamely, nodding to something out of Ginny's vision. She moved a few steps over and gasped.

"Malfoy? What are _you_ doing here?"

Draco glowered at Ginny for a second before replying, "None of your business."

Mcgonnagal let out what seemed to be a strangled sob and the pair looked at her questioningly.

Ginny lightly tapped her teacher's arm. "Proffess-"

"Sugar biscuit," she said to the eagle, and then walked the teens in. Draco and Ginny gave each other one last look of disdain before stepping onto the moving staircase.

"Albus? They are... here," Mcgonnagal said, pushing each of them into the room (and slightly next to each other).

"Thank you very much, Minerva." Mcgonnagal nodded, sniffled, and turned to leave the room. "And Minerva? -- Do not fret, please."

She gave no reply other than another sniffle.

"Bloody hell," Draco muttered. Ginny glared at him before running into the arms of her mother and father.

"Mum, dad..." Ginny trailed off as she saw her mother's eyes filled with tears and her father's expression: the one she knew clearly as 'I'm-going-to-kick-some-pureblood-ass.' "What's wrong?"

"Mother," Draco greeted, nodding. His mother nodded back, then turned her head away from everyone and focused on Fawkes, the phoenix.

Dumbledore lightly cleared his throat and everyone in the vicinity's eyes were on him. He had that effect on people. "I think we should get to the matter at hand, now that we're all here."

A collective nod of agreement.

"And I'm sure most of you are familiar with the line of hatred cutting between Slytherin and Gryffindor?"

A more meaningful, extreme nod of agreement, along with a few "uh huh"s from Ginny and Draco (Who then proceeded to glare like there was no tomorrow).

"Well, it seems as if along that line there has been a barrier formed. A barrier of..." Dumbledore looked down at the floor and chose his words carefully. "Prophecy, and I use this term very loosely."

"A prophecy?" Repeated Mrs. Malfoy.

Dumbledore nodded. "As we all know, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin had very... different views on how they wanted Hogwarts to be run."

The proffessor began to explain the story of Godric and Salazar's star-crossed grandchildren who fell in love, and whose love then burst into a new version of hate between Gryffindors and Slytherins.

"But, proffessor, what does this have to do with us?" Ginny asked politely. "It doesn't really have anything to do with us."

"Oh, but it does. Elye's daughter married a man whose last name was _Prewitt_ -"

Mrs. Weasley lightly gasped.

"- And Alasia Slytherin's daughter married a man whose last name was Black. They had a child named _Phineas_."

Draco Malfoy's fists clenched. "What - does - this - mean - ?" he hissed, but Narcissa lightly slapped him, knowing _exactly _who Phineas was.

"As you can see," Dumbledore continued, "It all comes down to these children... or, should I say, young adults."

Ginny crosses her arms. "I don't understand, what does this have to do with my scar?"

Mr. Weasley looked at his daughter crossly. "What scar?"

She glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded his head, and then began to roll down her knee-high socks. The snake was now bright green and was a bit longer. Her parents gasped as Draco gulped and glanced at his mother.

Narcissa grabbed her son's hand forcefully and forced him to stick out his ring finger. There, just as she suspected, was a silver ring that once belonged to her great-great-grandfather. She shook her head and dropped her son's hand as quickly as she had grabbed it.

"Albus," Narcissa said, "please tell me this doesn't mean..."

"It does," he replied curtly.

Ginny and Draco shared a glance that wasn't filled with hatred -- instead, it was filled with confusion. For once, Draco felt some _slight_ -- VERY slight -- compassion towards Ginny and her humongous scar. He didn't, however, notice what his mother did, or put together the clues.

"Okay, seriously now," Ginny grumbled, "Can someone clue me in?"

Mrs. Weasley looked down at her hands as she spoke. "We're related to Godric Gryffindor."

Ginny's eyes bulged. "So... that means I have to marry someone related to Slytherin?"

"I still don't understand why _I'm_ here. I don't care who the Weasel has to marry!" Draco hissed, crossing his arms.

"Don't you see?" Narcissa yelled, throwing her hands up. "You're related to _Salazar Slytherin_! Phineas Black, sound familiar?"

Draco's eyes went wide as he and Ginny looked at each other. The thought of them being married was appaling!

"So I have to marry him, or I die? I'd rather die!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms huffily. "I will _not_ become a Malfoy!"

"You'd never be a Malfoy," Draco hissed scathingly.

Dumbledore frowned. "You are only going to be taking his name and living with him, Miss Weasley. You will still be yourself -- the same fiery young woman Hogwart's has loved you being." He turned to Draco. "And you. You are only giving this girl your surname, and will be living in a great house with her. You probably will see her less than you've seen her during school. Nothing will change except who you see after school, Draco."

They looked at each other once more, their feelings still set: they would prefer death as opposed to being married to each other.

"As you know," Dumbledore continued, "the year is almost over. In a few days, the seventh years will be moving out of the school. When they do so, Ginny, I want you to move in with Draco at Malfoy Manor."

It was silent as Mrs. Weasley silently sobbed; she was losing her baby girl. Narcissa stared at the back of her son's stiff, straight shoulders as she tried to sympathize for him. She found it impossible; she could only sympathize for Ginny and how the rest of her life would be ruined with her son's coldness and cruelty.

-----------------

Ginny Weasley walked towards the Gryffindor commonroom, feeling rather like a shell of herself. She couldn't believe that in 3 days she would be married to Draco Malfoy. As she got closer and closer to the portrait of the fat lady, she couldn't help letting a tear form from behind her eye. Harry would probably be seated by the fire, just as she left him, finishing up his homework. Hermione would be stroking Crookshanks in her favorite red armchair as Ron would be hovering around Harry, telling him to hurry up so he could copy it.

Their lives would continue. Hers would end.

She blinked away the tears and took a deep breath. The fat lady was in front of her, lightly snoring away.

"Macaroni and cheese," she said, awaking the snoozing portrait.

"Ah, yes, dear..." she whispered, opening up ajar before falling back asleep.

When Ginny entered the room, all she heard was silence and the repetitive scraping of a quill on parchment. As she turned the corner, she saw that only Harry was in the room and, as she suspected, doing homework. Oh, how she loved him and his horrific procrastination. It was Sunday night, and here he was doing his late homework that was due friday and the homework that was due monday. She couldn't help but love him.

As she watched him, she felt the tears finally come. She tried to cry as quietly as possible, but after a few seconds, she emitted a small sob. Harry's head shot up and looked around.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called, looking around. Ginny said nothing, just wished she was invisible. Wished she could run away. He finally turned the corner and saw her, then stopped in his tracks. "Ginny, come here."

Ginny nodded and stepped slowly over to her ex-boyfriend. She kept her eyes firmly on the ground and tried to make her red bangs fall in front of her eyes to block her tears, but it was no use. Harry gently lifted her head up and looked at her.

"Come here," he said again, lightly bringing his arms around Ginny and hugging her tightly. She loosened up and let the tears fall onto his blue tee shirt. Everytime she felt she had no more tears left, she would feel Harry's body beneath her arms and she would cry harder, knowing she could never be with him. No matter what.

She looked around and broke away. She was sitting on the couch, lying on top of Harry. She didn't remember getting in this position, nor did she know why Harry let her, but all she knew was that it was the most comfortable she had felt in days. She wished she could spend her life just like this; in Harry's arms, rather than in the arms of a man who hated her more than anything.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. His eyes looked half-closed as he attempted looking up at her from his position on the couch. Ginny could see the light blush on his face as she noticed she was pressed up against him, but that he didn't complain or move away.

"No," replied Ginny truthfully. "I have... I have to... I can't... I have to... With..."

"Please explain. It will make you feel better, I know it."

She shook her head. "It will make me feel worse. It's just... I can't... be with you."

Harry looked at her closely. "What do you mean?"

"I can't be with you. Ever, Harry. Life after Hogwart's... it won't... be the same. It won't be how we planned it," she mumbled, staring at the design on his tee-shirt.

"Bullocks," Harry said with a small smile. "Everything will be the same. No matter what."

Ginny tried to smile, but found it increasingly hard. "You don't know, Harry..." she whispered, putting her head on his chest.

"Then tell me!" he half-yelled, causing Ginny to jump.

"Harry, please..."

He looked into her eyes. "Tell me. Tell me what's frightened you. Tell me why you can't be with me once school is over for us both."

Ginny looked at her hands and sat up. "I'm... getting married."

Harry was silent and sat up as well, causing Ginny to move off his chest. He looked at the floor.

"To whom," he asked, thought it sounded more like a defeated question.

"Don't make me. Please." She was practically pleading to avoid the yelling, the anger, the everything that she knew would ensue once she said those three little words.

Harry looked at her and she knew she had no choice.

"To... Draco Malf -"

He jumped off the couch in shock, knocking over the glass of water Ron was drinking hours ago.

"You're **marrying** the FERRET?"

Ginny nodded solemnly. "But it's not like I want to! I have no choice, Harry, really!"

She told Harry to sit down and he did so, listening earnestly as she told him all that Dumbledore had said. His expression went from cold to warm in a rather of seconds as, although he was heartbroken, he knew it would be worse for Ginny.

"Have you told Ron yet?"

Ginny shook her head. "Haven't had a chance... where is he?"

Harry lightly laughed. "He's on a date with Hermione. She thought they should go for a walk outside to get his mind off of...well, you. They left only ten or so minutes ago, I don't think they'll be back anytime soon. Everyone else is at Quidditch practice... It is a nice day out, I don't blame them."

"Why aren't you out with them?"

Harry shrugged. "Homework...and I didn't want you to be completely alone when you came back."

Ginny smiled and looked down.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," he said apologetically. "I wish that last year -"

"No regrets, Harry," Ginny said quietly with a smile. "There's no time for regrets."

With great force and ferocity, Ginny kissed Harry with all the strength in her body. She ignored the burning of her scar and deepened the kiss before slowly breaking away.

"What time will everyone get back?" she asked quietly between kisses.

"Ron... Hermione... don't know. Quidditch... ends... hour..."

Ginny smiled. "That gives us enough time," she answered, kissing him once again and reclining back on the couch.

_End chapter_

_Author's Note: ...I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T HELP IT! I foreshadowed Harry/Ginny too much, in my opinion, in the last chapter, so I had to have some final H/G fluffiness. This was basically a filler chapter until the graduation -- which will most likely be next chapter. Please review!_

_PS:_ _I haven't decided whether I will always include lyrics in front of chapters, but I saw it fit this time to do so. Hope you don't mind!_


	4. Part II, Chapter Three:Welcome to France

Part II, Chapter Three: Welcome to the Manor

_Really really quick note: Yeah, you may have noticed... Snape Back. And good. Dumbledore not dead. But... everything else follows HBP. I have a selective memory. (Giggles and runs away)_

Ginny paced around the girl's dormitories, looking for something to wear. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, her palms were sweaty, and she had red marks all around her neck. She knew that as soon as someone like Lavendar would see her, she'd _know_. Ginny wrung her hands and took deep breaths, trying to analyze the situation. The only things that made sense in her mind was 'I just shagged my ex-boyfriend' and 'I'm going to be killed by Ron if he ever finds out.' The hazy bits of her brain were filled with 'Draco Malfoy is going to be my husband?' and 'Where _is_ Malfoy Manor anyways?'

But she couldn't think of that now. As she said herself, 'no time for regrets.' Not that Ginny had any, anyway. Harry was... and... She sighed. She tried to feel content and happy, but the thoughts finally filled her head that in a few minutes, the Gryffindor Quidditch team would be coming back, Hermione would be coming home from her date and would need someone to talk to, and that eventually, they would have to go to sleep. Ginny was immensely tired, but didn't want to sleep: if she let herself sleep until the morning, tomorrow would be school-wide exams. Then it would be the day of relaxation at Hogsmeade, and then...

She sighed. It would be the last day. Their graduation. Her last day as a single girl. The last time she could ever look at another boy again without her being under the laws of marriage. 'Till death do us part' -- though, for her, it was probably 'Till death do us stay together eternally with Merlin.'

Ginny heard movement outside the room and positioned herself on the bed so it looked like she was doing some intent studying for tomorrow. But really, what did it matter? It's not like if she failed all her tests they were going to make her stay back a year. No one cared. They knew her life was over and wouldn't make her stay in sixth year again. Though, given the choice between sixth year and Draco, she'd gladly choose sixth year all over again.

"Hello, Ginny, darling!" Hermione said in a very Luna-like tone: dreamy, wishful, and not fully_ there_. "How's your daaaaay?"

Ginny rose an eyebrow. Hermione _definitely_ didn't realize who she was talking to. Or, at least, didn't remember. She scrunched her nose up in disgust; did Hermione _do it_ for her first time?

"Uh... fine, and y --"

"Simply _marvelous_! Ronald and I went on a date, I'm guessing you know that. Harry suggested it, you know, so we could get our minds off everything. And... my, it was fabulous."

Never in Ginny's life had she heard Hermione use so many positive adjectives in one breath.

"That's g--"

"And -- get this -- he _kissed_ me! It was long, too... oh, my, I hope I was good..."

Ginny snapped her fingers and Hermione's "dazed and confused" look immediately left her face.

"Oh, God, please don't tell me I just started talking about Ron kissing me without even asking about _you_! I'm so sorry, Ginny, I don't know what came over me!" She cried, truthfully apologetic.

"It's okay, Hermione. Really. I'd rather hear about Ron and you."

Hermione shook her head. "Unimportant. Please tell me, I promise I'm listening."

And so Ginny said all she knew, every detail, up until her and Harry.

"Oh, Ginny, I'm so sorry... Where will you be moving, is it far? You will be able to hang out with us still, won't you? And a job, how will you get one if you're put into a remote place with none other than Draco Malfoy? And... Ginny, what?"

She gulped, trying to decide whether to tell Hermione or not. She took a deep breath and whispered it in Hermione's ear.

"_HarryanIusthagged_."

Hermione blinked. "Huh?"

"Harry. And I. Just..."

"OH MY GOD! Ginny, how could you? What about your _virtue_?"

Ginny spoke through tears, keeping her voice as even as possible. "It was my last opportunity, Hermione. For the rest of my life, I'm going to be with Draco Malfoy and _only_ Draco Malfoy. Every waking moment. It was the last time I could ever... imagine being with Harry. I could release my inhibitions one last time before being tied down once more by my coming future. I don't care about my ruined virtue, Hermione."

Hermione looked down at her hands, then up at her crying friend. Keeping her know-it-all mouth shut for once, she put her arms around the shaking redhead and let her cry on her shoulder.

-----------------

"Are you ready for your exams, Ginny?" Hermione asked as she, Ginny, Ron, and Harry walked towards the Great Hall.

"No," Ginny replied nonchalantly. "No, didn't study a bit."

Harry and Ginny shared a quick glance, followed by a blush that went unnoticed by Ron.

"Ginny, you really should --"

"What does it matter, Hermione?" Ginny shot back. "It doesn't matter if I pass or fail. Either way I'm going to have to live with... him. An 'A' in Transfiguration won't make the problem go away, and neither will an 'F'."

The group was quiet as they continued their walk, nearly reaching the doors to the Great Hall. However, Professor McGonnagal and Severus Snape stood in their way, staring at Ginny intently.

"Ginny..." the group gasped; it was the first time Snape had ever referred to her that way. "You're leaving school early."

Gin's mouth dropped open. "Wha- what about my exams?"

"Neither of you are taking them. You're going straight to the Manor as soon as possible, as per orders of your parents, along with Mr. Malfoy's," McGonnagal replied.

Ginevra found it difficult to catch her breath as she saw Draco appear behind McGonnagal. She took deep breaths and looked to the trio, who were eyeing her in a pathetic excuse for comfort. Harry's eyes seemed particularly saddened.

"But -- but -- Professor, what about tomorrow? The day of rest? Graduation?"

Snape shook her head. "Not necessary. No need. Please come along, Weasley. It will make it easier on you if you leave now." He lightly grabbed the sleeve of Ginny's dress robes, pulling her and Draco away from the trio. Ginny turned around desperately, tears filling her eyes. Ron jumped out and tried to grab her, but it was no use. She was gone.

-----------------

Ginny packed her trunk as quickly as her hands allowed it, which was about the speed of a snail on a hot, lazy summer's day. She had the urge to hold everything in her room, even things that weren't hers. She took out one of her dress robes for special occasions and began folding it, letting her fingers feel along the beautiful green-and-black lace. Her mother bought her the dress in the hopes that she would make happy memories in it, but she had yet to wear it. She had the urge to throw it out, knowing that whenever she wore it now, her memories would be anything but happy.

She heard a knock on the door and yelled a defeated "come in." Draco Malfoy crossed his arms and threw a glance around the room and at her clothes appraisingly. Something about his glance he didn't like; it made her feel like a lowly slave rather than a young woman.

"You're twenty minutes late," he drawled, glaring at her.

"What, exactly, am I late for? If I do recall, places of residence don't normally move. I'm sure our lovely little home will be there in another twenty."

Draco shook his head. "You're only making it worse for yourself, Weasel. The longer you stay, the harder it is to leave."

"And the longer you stay in this room, the more time I take getting ready."

Draco smirked. "You don't get it, do you?" he asked, and without a reply, left the room.

Ginny threw one of Hermione's shoes at the door and it shut with a slam. Ginny let the tears escape her eyes as she hurried up the packing process, wanting to have last moments to soak up her room.

Once she had packed her belongings -- every scribble, photograph, even a random school note from Hermione on the floor -- she took out a few pieces of parchment and a quill, then began writing.

_To my loving brothers,_

_I just want you all to know I will always remain a Weasley. No Malfoy scum will ever change me. Please know that during my days at the manor, memories of you will help keep the sunshine in the dark corridors. I write this note asking you not to worry about me if I don't write to you. I will try to make the best of this, and I'm sure you don't want me to be completely miserable. That is why I won't be writing to you often. The more I speak to you, the more I find out how grand your lives are going, the more homesick I'll get. The more I'll will this curse to just eat me alive._

_  
Please trust me, and please know that you were the best brothers a girl could ever ask for._

_Share this to mum and dad. Let them know that I will always be their little girl, no matter how old I get. Tell mum she will always be 'Mumma,' and tell Dad he will always be 'papa.' Remind them of happy moments when I was a little girl, and steer far away from memories of this year._

_Most sincerely and lovingly,  
_

_Ginevra M. Weasley_

She folded the paper up and wrote 'Ronald Weasley' on the side. She would leave it on Ronald's best chair so that he could see it right away, as soon as he was done with his exams. Getting out another piece of parchment, she began to write the hardest letter of all.

_Dear Harry,_

_I... don't know what to say. My breath is catching in my throat just as I write your name and my brain registers the memories we had together. I will miss you so much. You are my favorite memory of Hogwart's, always will be._

_You always try to apologize for last year, Harry, and I don't understand why. You and I shared a great love, no matter how long or short it was. I know what you had to go through. You're the boy who lived. You spent the beginning of this year looking for horcruxes and defeating Voldemort. And yet, you told Hermione the hardest thing about this year was being apart from me and not being able to apologize for our breakup last year._

_In my heart, I don't think we ever broke up. Sure, we didn't snog or do anything that couples are 'supposed' to do, but we got the closest we've ever been. Our hearts ruled us, and for once, I think we were really content._

_Let _me_ apologize this time, Harry. I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm sorry I can't be with you. I'm sorry that my tears are ruining this ink so much that it's hard to read. I'm sorry that you won't be able to see me walk down the aisle. I'm sorry you won't be able to dance with me at our wedding. I'm sorry you and I won't have a gazillion little red headed monsters or raven headed rebels running around our house. _

_I'm sorry about the future, Harry. But not about the past._

_I love you. I always will._

_Your adoring fan,_

_Ginny Weasley._

As an afternote, she lightly scrawled,

_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, his hair is as dark as a blackboard. I wish he were mine, he's really divine, the hero who conquered the Dark Lord._

Ginny folded it up carefully and wrote 'Harry Potter,' then grabbed her stuff and began walking downstairs to the commonroom.

-----------------

"Bloody _finally_," Draco complained, looking up from examining a painting on the wall of the Gryffindor commonroom. He finally noticed Ginny's smeared mascara, puffy eyes and red nose: the universal sign that a woman's been crying. "Oh, enough with the bloody tears already."

"Shut the hell up," she whispered. "Can't you show a little compassion, Malfoy? Or are you truly the heartless prat I've thought you to be?"

Draco Malfoy said nothing but watched the small girl put two notes on a red armchair by the portrait.

"Let's go already, this room is making me sick."

Ginny smirked at her soon-to-be husband. "Oh, certainly, your majesty."

"That's more like it, Weasel!" Draco said, puffing out his chest as they began to make their way quickly out the front doors of the school, then towards their carriage. "This arrangement will work just fine if you keep that attitude!"

Ginevra shook her head and grabbed Draco's robes, pulling him close enough to feel his icy breath on her nose. She leaned close and sneered in his face as the driver watched with an amused expression.

"You listen here, _Malfoy_. When we get to the manor, you will respect my privacy. You will not touch my things, you will not enter my room without knocking or asking permission. I want keys to the rooms that I will reside in. My rooms will be locked when I am not home. You will not refer to me as 'Weasel.' You will not touch me. You will not disrespect my family's name and you will _never_ disrespect Harry's. Are we clear?"

Malfoy leaned in closer and spat in a low hiss, "I think you're forgetting whose house it is, _Weasel_. **I** make the rules, not you. _You_ listen here. You will not go into any of the upstairs rooms, _especially_ ones that have a snake engraved on the doorframe. The only rooms that have keys are the ones that _I_ make keys for. If the rooms that you happen to have are not locked, then I guess that's just too damn bad. I will disrespect anyone I bloody want to disrespect, Weasel, no matter how you feel about them. Are _we_ clear?"

Ginny shook her head and stepped away, glaring at him. "You're despicable. If I didn't have a family that loved me and a man that adored me, I'd let this curse eat me alive. But I guess you don't know that feeling, do you, Malfoy? You don't know what it's like to hear 'I love you' from someone and not have it be said out of _fear_. You don't know what it's like to get a hug from a parent for no reason. You're just the cold-hearted bastard I thought you were."

Malfoy let his face show no emotion, but somewhere deep inside his soul, it was as if his heart was slowly melting a bit... and Draco didn't like it. Her words stung and the five-year-old Malfoy, the one who yearned to be loved, flashed in his mind.

_"Mummy, can I go outsi--"_

_"You will not call your mother anything other than MOTHER in public, Draco! How many times do I have to teach you that?" Lucius Malfoy yelled, sending his silver, pointed cane into his toddler's leg. _

"Master Malfoy, are we ready to go?" the old driver asked, smiling at the two arguing teens. The redhead was practically a yard away from Draco, her arms crossed, looking rather cross herself. The blond seemed to be in a daze, his cold blue eyes staring at nothing.

Draco snapped out of it, his "Yeah... Yeah, sure."

"Come along, then. Inside," the man said to the both of them, holding the door open. Draco smugly made a show of bowing down to Ginevra as she stepped inside, and she exaggeratedly put her hand over her heart as if it were the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. In a mere second her expression changed and she stuck her tongue out at him, then walked inside. Draco stared at the sky, hoping for a really strong rain so that she could get her pretty little Gryffindor uniform muddy on their way up to the Manor.

-----------------

"Where the bloody hell _are_ we?" Ginny asked, waking up after sleeping through the long voyage.

"Welcome to France," Draco said dryly.

The driver stepped out and opened the door for them. "C'mon then, kids -- er... adults... ? ... Get out, I need to get yer things. Follow me."

Ginny slowly stepped out, hearing the french language being thrown around at the speed of light all around her in the dirty streets. It made her sickeningly homesick, reminding her of Fleur and Bill's wedding the summer before. She stuck her hands deep in her cloak pockets as they made their way up the hill towards mansion that was so huge even at the farthest point of France could see its high and pointed roof.

She chuckled coldly; Slytherins always _were_ showoffs.

"Something _funny_ about _my_ mansion, Weasel?" Draco hissed as they walked closer and closer to the mansion. As they got closer, the manor only began to look more menacing to Ginny. She imagined that once it hadn't looked so; the place had probably been filled with love. From what she heard, Ginny got the impression that Andasar, Elye, and Fayebris were very happy... before _Salazar_ had to ruin that. Stupid Slytherins! Always ruining _everything_!

"We're here, then," the driver said, dropping the trunks down on the steps in front of the main doors. He opened them and Ginny looked inside; it was amazing.

There was a large staircase straight in front of her that was carpeted with red and green rugs. A large and beautiful chandelier was held from the tip of the ceiling and the floor below it was a beautiful white marble. It was dusty, that was for sure, but gorgeous. Just the main room was nearly the size of the astronomy tower at Hogwart's.

Draco smirked and stepped behind Ginny, putting his mouth next to her ear. "_Welcome to the Manor_."

_Author's Note: No offense... I love Harry and Ginny and everything... BUT THANK GOD HE'S GONE! Rofl. Honestly, I really need some good Draco/Ginny action. So ya'll better review so I can get my jam on! (Don't ask. It doesn't make sense to me either.)_


	5. Part II, Chapter Four: Me & the Moon

Part II, Chapter Four: Me and the Moon

_..."It's me and the moon," she says  
"And I've got no trouble with that."_

-Something Corporate, Me and the Moon

_Our eyes will adjust, thank God for the moon  
_- Rent (Light My Candle)

**Warning: Now is where it gets confusing.**

"Wow," Ginny whispered truthfully as Draco lit a candle so they could look around. The house was so old there was no electricity in the entire house.

"If I remember correctly..." Draco started, thinking in thought, "If you follow the red part of the carpet it will lead to Fayebris' private bedroom." He pointed to the carpet on the stairs, where a thick red line on the right side of the staircase snaked its way up the stairs. "The green part leads to Andasar's, and the gold..." He pointed to the small line connecting both colors. "Leads to Elye's room."

Ginny followed the gold line, but saw it went to nothing but a large stone wall. On the wall was a painting of a very happy family smiling in front of a fireplace. There was a woman with flowing red hair that seemed to be endless with freckles and beautiful hazel eyes. Next to her was a man with silvery-white hair and blue eyes, eyes that seemed cold. His smile, however, betrayed his eyes as he held an adorable baby girl. Her eyes were her father's cold blue, but her hair -- the little amount she had on her head -- was a brilliant red. She smiled and stared at the painting; these were her ancestors. These people betrayed their own families to be with the one they loved and risked death for their child. It would have been so easy for them just to give up and separate. But they were too in love.

Ginny sighed and turned around; Draco was already gone. _What a wonderful host_, she thought to herself, _leaving the guest in the main room with not even a candle._ She began to glance around for a candlestick, but found nothing. Just as she was about to use her wand, she heard the distinct sound of a baby crying.

"What the hell?" Ginny half-yelled, shocked. Did Draco have some secret child living in this house? Was it abandoned for so long that people were using it as a shagging shack, and now there was a baby somewhere in this house?

Ginny spun around, trying to figure out where she heard the cry from. Once again she heard it, coming from what seemed like behind her. But that was impossible, nothing was there but a painting! She looked closer and saw tears falling from Elye's eyes. Ginny felt as if she were going insane as the yelling became louder and louder and louder, to the point where she had to get rid of the screaming. It was fogging her brain, making her become dizzy. With a scream, she fell down the small, four stairs with a _bang._

-----------------

Ginny woke up, confused, and looked around. The first thing that she saw was a painting of Fayebris -- and although she is pretty, if your head is banging, you can't remember where you are, and you have no idea what you're doing in a strange bed... it's the most terrifying thing a girl could set her eyes on. She let out another scream and sat up immediately.

... Which was dumb. She clutched her head and fell back on the pillow, moaning in agony. Why was her head hurting so? Why did her back hurt? Where the HELL was she?

"What is_ with_ you and the _screaming_?"

She screamed again and turned to find the voice: Draco Malfoy was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, looking quite like the cat that ate the canary.

Ginny nearly choked on her own spit. "MALFOY! What the -- you -- and -- bed -- and -- baby! Screaming! Head -- throbbing, painting -- staring! WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Draco was laughing so hard he was crying; Ginny was acting like a bloody lunatic, and boy, was it amusing.

"Do you have no recollection of what happened?" he asked between fits of laughter.

"Of course I do! You bloody left me all alone on the staircase without a candle -- thanks a lot -- and then when I started looking around I heard a baby cry! So, of course, I started looking around --"

"Wait." Draco looked at her closely and began to walk closer to the bed. "A baby?"

"Yes. A _baby_. As in humans, but a smaller form? Anyway, I heard it screaming, so I looked around and it was as if the screaming was hypnotizing me. The last thing I remember is falling," she explained, the throbbing in her head making her feel rather drunk. "Now, how did I get here?"

"A baby?" Draco asked again. "Where was it coming from?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know. It sounded like it was coming from... well... the painting. But I know that's silly. Now, how did I get here?"

"From the painting? Where, in the main room?"

"_Yes_," she answered, exasperated. "How. Did. I. Get. Here?"

Without answering, he left the room quickly.

"Malfoy! Wait!" she yelled, getting up although her back, head, and now legs were aching. "_Ow, ow, ow... _Malfoy! Stop! _Ow... ow!_" She ran -- well, more like wobbled -- her way down the stairs just in time to see Draco about to chop up the main painting with an axe. "STOP!" Draco didn't hear her, so she threw herself at him. Thankfully, he threw the axe down right before it could have chopped her into two. She nearly cried out in agony as her back throbbed from the fall.

"Bloody **hell**! Have you gone completely mad? I could have killed you! What the hell were you thinking, Weasel?"

Ginny took deep breaths, trying to regain a normal breathing rate as she stood up. "What was _I_ thinking? What about what **you** were thinking? You were about to ruin the only remaining artifact of Fayebris and her family!"

Draco threw his hands up. "YOU SAID THE PAINTING WAS BLOODY CRYING! If I'm not incorrect, PAINTINGS DON'T DO THAT."

"Well..." she wrung her hands together. "I just meant that... well... maybe it was just my ears...?"

Draco shook his head and began to pace, speaking quickly. "I've been with you bloody two hours and already you've got me parading about the place as if I were your slave or something! First I hear you scream, and so I have to figure out where you are. Then I have to take your fat arse up practically twenty flights of stairs to put you in bed so you didn't bloody BLEED to death --"

"Hey! I do _not_ have a fat--" Ginny trailed off. "Did you say you brought me upstairs and put me to bed?"

"No!" Draco snapped quickly. "Not like that. You were bleeding. You were going to get the carpet dirty with your... uh... well... blood."

Somewhere inside, Ginny knew he wasn't only thinking of his carpet. He couldn't let her bleed to death. And though she knew she should say thank you, the only thing that she felt like replying with was a nasty retort.

"Keep your slimy paws off of me, Ferret." The words came out quickly, easily, harshly. She was so used to saying words like these that it was hard for her to say a simple thank-you. She made a promise to herself that she wouldn't let him get under her skin, that she would avoid being personal with him at all costs -- this was her defense mechanism. To spit a cruel retort and then walk away.

And that's exactly what she did.

-----------------

Draco shook his head and walked back upstairs to Andasar's room, feeling like laughing. He looked in a full length mirror that stood on the right side of the wall and replayed how stupid he was in his head. He was about to go downstairs and take a walk when he saw something move in the mirror, and it wasn't him.

It was as if his skin was changing, morphing into another person. He looked down at his hands, but they were still his. In the mirror, however, they were longer, thinner. Draco was shocked to see his hair grow longer, whiter.

He was becoming his father.

He slowly slid away from the mirror, bumping into the edge of his bed. His knees buckled and he fell on the floor, his father still standing over him.

Inside his head, he heard a familiar voice hissing as he saw the reflection's mouth move in turn with what was being said.

"_You were so stupid. You should have let her bleed! What were you thinking? She means nothing! If you left her bleeding, maybe she would have died!_"

Draco shook his head fiercely, trying to get rid of the image of his father, but found it was no use.

"_You help her out, and what does she say? Thank you?_" His reflection shook his head and then morphed into an image of Ginny. "_'Get your slimy paws off of me, Ferret!' So do that, _Ferret_! Leave this place! Give it to its rightful owners!_"

He attempted to get up, but found he was too nervous to move. Seeing his father return back to the mirror, back into his life, was enough to give him nightmares for years.

-----------------

_That was a little harsh, don't you think?_ Ginny asked herself as she climbed up the tall staircase and began walking to her room. _I mean, he was only being kind. Maybe I should apologize... _She turned around and started to walk back when something in her mind awakened.

'No! Why would you do that? He only did it so he could get glory. You put him in his place, and that was what he needed! You did exactly what you should have!'

_But... I was rude. He was being nice, and I was so mean... If I'm going to live here, I don't want to live in constant warfare! If I apologize..._

'Don't you dare! Then he'll know he can take advantage of your kindness, he'll use it against you! That's what Slytherins _do._'

_But..._ she shook her head. "I'm bloody talking to myself!" She sighed and opened the door of her room, the painting of Fayebris still shocking her a bit, but becoming not quite the scare it was before. She began to unpack her things, humming a song she couldn't quite place in her head. Just as she was folding up a pretty red top, she heard the baby's cry once again.

_What's going on in this house? I swear, I'm going crazy, I almost thought I heard --_ Cue the baby crying. _I KNEW IT!_

She carefully listened to the baby's yells, tiptoeing throughout the huge mansion to find out where the sound was coming from. She traveled through rooms she had never seen before, and each varied extremely from the other. One was bright pink with frill everywhere, the only things inside were a screen to change behind, a vanity, and a small closet. Another room was bright blue and held tennis rackets, brooms, and quidditch material. Each room described Fayebris' vast personality -- and it chilled Ginny to find that Fayebris was quite like herself.

The baby's voice led out of Fayebris' side of the mansion and towards Draco's. She faltered before deciding her curiosity was too overwhelming for her to just 'give up,' so she opened the green door with the snake engraved in the doorframe -- one of Draco's 'famous' rules. She continued following the voice upstairs, through snaking hallways and tiny doorways until she found herself in front of a huge door, where the screaming was to the point of craziness. Throwing the door open, she was surprised to see no baby at all.

Instead, she saw Draco, quivering in a far corner.

"Malfoy?" She asked quietly, walking up to him. She lightly tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to her, wiping furious tears from his eyes. She looked at him, for once, without loathing. She truly felt sorry for him, for whatever reason he was feeling so down.

And immediately the crying stopped.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking around.

"My father. In the mirror, is he still there?"

Ginny looked into the mirror but only saw her reflection. She shook her head. "No... he's not there."

Draco, as if not believing her word, looked himself, then, looking satisfied, stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"The crying again. And what do you mean, your father? He was... in the mirror?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. It was weird, I... I feel like this house is making me insane."

She nodded. "Me, too. I heard the crying and followed it up here. I have no idea what's going on... Did you hear anything?"

"No. Just my father."

It was silent as they pondered what could be going on, but none of their reasons made sense. She sat on his bed, her cloak riding up slightly to the point where Draco could see some of her leg.

"How's your... scar?"

"Oh..." Ginny lifted the cloak up a bit more and checked. "It seems to have gotten a bit smaller..." She stood up and looked in the mirror for a full view. For a second, her reflection was the only thing she saw... but after a few seconds, she saw Draco walking towards her. Wordlessly, he began kissing up and down her arm. She let out a quivering breath, scared of the feeling.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Draco looked up from his dressers, where he was throwing clothes in. "Uh... packing?"

"Is... that what they... call that these days?" she asked.

"Have they ever called it anything else?" He took a good look at her; she looked flushed, and her arm was sticking out. She was shaking slightly, breathing heavily. It looked like she was... well... "What the hell are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing? You're the one that comes over here, out of nowhere, and --" She spun around to reprimand him, but found he was suddenly half way across the room. "What are you doing over there? How'd you get there so fast?"

Draco rose an eyebrow. "Are you sure that when you fell you fell on your leg and not your head?"

"Don't give me that!" She hissed, pointing to the mirror and glancing at it at the same time. In the mirror, Draco was still standing there, kissing her arms. "You're in two places at once."

"...I don't think so... Wait, let me check." He dramatically checked around the room before looking back at her. "Nope, one of me. What are you going on about?"

She turned from the mirror and sat on the bed, facing away from it. "Your mirror is cursed."

Draco stood up, slightly protectively -- although he would never admit that he was feeling protective over Weaslette -- and looked behind her into the mirror.

"What do you mean, cursed?"

She turned around, looking at him with a sad smile playing on her face. "Cursed. Like me. Like this house. _Cursed_."

-----------------

Ginny was crying big, empty tears that had no meaning, no reason. Nothing in particular was making her cry. It was just the first night -- the first time she had ever slept alone in a strange house away from anyone she knew. Ever since first year, she had a fear of sleeping alone. At the age of sixteen, her father was lying in her room every night in a spare cot that once belonged to Bill. During the school year, she would wait until Hermione and Harry were safe in their beds, then would curl next to Ron on the couch. When she fell asleep, he would carry her up to her room.

Of all the things that frightened her about staying here, with Draco, in a huge house... the thing that wasn't on her list of worries was sleeping alone. Actually, she hadn't even thought of it until she laid down and realized that the house was too quiet. Too loud. Too bright. Too dark. Too empty. Too full. With the lights off, every shadow seemed to be haunting images, creeping up to her bed and trying to take her down under to a world of never ending night. With the lights on, the brightness laughed at her, telling her she had to get to sleep soon or she would be like a ghost in the morning.

She was sick of it. She couldn't lay down, she couldn't sit up. Reading didn't help -- all the books were written in incomprehensible 'olde english' and only frustrated her. She couldn't do anything but search the house, going as high as she could up the tall staircase.

She tumbled here and there, now and then shrieking about a cobweb or something. Eventually, when there were no more doors to open, she found one last, tiny door. It seemed more worn than the others, as if Fayebris spent every waking moment going through this door. In the center was a large imprint of a crescent-moon. Ginny quietly opened the door and gasped.

It was the roof, but small and safe. There were two chairs next to each other, pointing outward, and right in front of her, in all his glory, was the man in the moon. The moon had never looked more brilliant, and she sat down in one of the chairs, staring at it. As she sat in silence, she began to remember a song her mum sung to her when she first began having troubles going to sleep after people would leave her alone in her room. In a low, quiet voice, she tried to recreate the feeling of security her mother gave her when she was little. Half-way through her song the tears came.

"_Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight...  
Someone's thinking of me, and loving me tonight  
Somewhere out there, someone's saying a prayer  
That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there_

_And even though I know how very far apart we are  
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star  
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby  
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky, oh..._

Somewhere, out there, if love can see us through  
Then we'll be together, somewhere out there  
Out where dreams come true..."

She heard a sound from behind her and spun around quickly, self-conscious about her singing. Draco appeared in the doorway, leaning against its frame, watching her. She wiped away her tears with the back of her palm and crossed her arms.

-----------------

Draco looked at her closely; she was crying. But why? "What are you doing up here?"

She looked at him coldly. "I could ask you the same question."

"I heard you singing. I thought it was the ghost of Fayebris or something come to murder us in our sleep, and we couldn't have that, could we?" replied Draco with a smirk. He didn't mention the fact that he thought her singing was lovely, or that he heard her crying and actually felt somewhat sad for her. Why would he? Showing compassion only left you vulnerable. "Now your turn -- why are you up here?"

She was silent, trying to decide whether to tell him about her 'ailment.' No one knew except her family; she figured they didn't need to know. But since she was probably going to be up here a lot, singing, she thought she might as well get it out in the open now.

"Chronic secondary insomnia. I've had it for about six years."

Draco was silent. "Chronic secondary?"

"Yeah. Chronic means it happens very often, it's like a cycle. For me it's every day. Secondary means it's because of underlying problems."

"Such...as?"

She took a deep breath. "I'm sure you've heard all the gossip about the chamber."

He nodded. "Yes."

"Ever since then, my brain keeps replaying that night. It's like I can't forgive myself and I always feel vulnerable to... someone sneaking up on me like that, I guess. Pretending they're your friend and then betraying you. You know?" She sighed. "I can't go to sleep without someone else in the room. I'm so screwed up, it's not even funny."

"I wouldn't laugh," he said, letting an actual nice comment slip. He noticed his mistake and was about to say something mean, but she turned and looked at him with a smile.

"Thank you for listening. I didn't think I'd ever be able to have a conversation with you that didn't consist of cursing and yelling."

Draco let the gratitude lie in the air before commenting. "So, what are you going to do? Just sit out here until morning?"

"I don't know. I've never been in this situation before... not for years. I don't know how to handle it. I guess I'll just watch the sun rise or something." She looked at her watch. "You should go... you can sleep, take advantage of that. I'll stop singing. Sorry for waking you."

"Keep singing," he said simply. Without waiting for an answer, Draco walked to the door, slowly glancing at her before closing it shut. As he walked down the stairs, he thought of all the things he thought he knew about her... and all the things he knew nothing about.

_Author's note: Hehehe. I hope you guys aren't too confused. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. This all makes sense in my twisted little head, and once I get to it in the story you'll reread this chapter and go, "OHHH!" No, I'm so serious, haha. You know what's sad though? I know exactly how she feels -- obviously not the part about her first year, but I can't sleep alone. I'm not scared of the dark or anything, I just can't sleep unless I know eventually someone will be coming in. So I guess I got a bit descriptive with that because it comes from experience._

_The song she was singing comes from the movie "An American Tale" -- I didn't write it, nor did I write the two song sentences in the front of the chapter._

_Thanks to all you fab reviewers! I hope this one came out a bit quicker -- I had a day off on Thursday, a snow day on Friday, a weekend, and practically no school today, so I guess I had time to write this. Hehe. Review please!_


	6. Part II, Chapter Five: His Weakness

Part II, Chapter Five: His Weakness

_Go melt back into the night, babe,  
Everything inside is made of stone.  
There's nothing in here moving  
An' anyway I'm not alone.  
You say you're looking for someone  
Who'll pick you up each time you fall,  
To gather flowers constantly  
An' to come each time you call,  
A lover for your life an' nothing more,  
But it ain't me, babe,  
No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,  
It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe_

- Bob Dylan (It Ain't Me, Babe)

_I tear my heart open  
I sew myself shut  
My weakness is  
That I care too much  
_- Papa Roach (Scars)_  
_

It had been nearly a month since the run-in with Draco on the roof, and ever since it had been awkward between he and Ginny. It was now late July, and Ginny noted with a sinking heart that Harry's birthday would be arriving soon. She contemplated writing him a birthday card or getting him a gift, but anytime she thought of doing such things, her scar burnt with such strong power she considered never speaking to Harry or thinking about him again. But she knew that was not possible.

By July 28th, she began to lose all hope of speaking to her brothers or Harry again. She hadn't gotten a card since her last day at Hogwarts, and she had not thought to visit anyone, either; she had been too busy searching all the tunnels, hallways, and hidden rooms in the manor, and she was sure she hadn't even seen half the rooms (although she had certainly seen nearly 100). However, she was pleasantly surprised a few days later when she received a folded up piece of parchment on her bed.

_July 29th  
The Manor, France_

_Dearest Ginny,_

_How are you, darling? I hope you are perfect, and I do hope Dra_ (a bunch of scratch marks on top of 'Dra') _Malfoy is treating you well. I hope you realize how much we all miss you and wish you were here with us. I do hope this letter comes to you well._

_As you know, Harry's birthday is coming up soon, and we (Arthur, Hermione, and the boys) have decided to throw him a surprise party at the Burrow. I know if you were there, his birthday truly would be a happy one. He misses you, dear, and I know it would make his birthday wonderful. I know it might hurt to see him, but please try to arrive._

_If you do decide you want to come, it is on Monday at three p.m. I do not know when it will end; probably late. No need to RSVP, we will let ourselves be surprised by your spontaneity._

_I love you, darling._

_Most Sincerely,_

_Mum_

Ginny didn't know how to respond to the letter. Should she go? Should she not? Would it be easy? Or would it be too hard? She chose to put it up on her dresser and decide on Sunday. That gave her about two days to decide. She figured that she shouldn't think about it until then, so to keep her mind off of the party she began sorting through her clothes, carefully folding each shirt, pant, etc. and putting them neatly in their proper drawer. She was nearly done when a certain dress caught her eye, one she didn't remember packing.

It was a beautiful gown, elegant and vintage. It was dirty and faded, but with a good wash she could tell it would be a beautiful shade of creme. The dress had a long v-neck slit in the front and half-way down the middle it was beaded with shimmering stones. It was beautiful, but it only reminded her of something she had thought little about:

Her wedding.

It explained the constant burning of her scar, the growth, and the pain that was shooting through her body at random moments. The curse stated a slytherin had to marry a gryffindor... well there had been no ceremony as of yet. Placing the dress down on the bed, she ran to Draco's room. When she reached it, she nearly fainted in pain from the running, but said what she had to.

"We -- aren't -- married."

"I hadn't noticed," said Draco, an amused smile playing upon his face.

"Don't be cute. The curse, Malfoy. _Slytherin _marries _Gryffindor_. We don't just _live_ together -- we have to get married. Or have you forgotten about my wonderful infliction?"

Draco blinked. "Damn. When the hell are we supposed to do this?"

_I wish it could be never_, Ginny thought to herself, but just the thought made her double-over; the burning of her scar increased threefold. She fell on the floor and writhed in pain and Draco nervously sat next to her, patting her head.

"As soon as possible," she whispered through pain.

And Draco knew she meant it.

-----------------

It was eleven PM on Saturday night. She had not tried to fall asleep, so instead began searching the grounds with a candle. She was walking around the garden, looking at the beautiful statues in the grass. They were of faeries and made of stone. Each statue depicted a different, mystical scene: three faeries blowing bubbles, two faeries dancing, one faerie sitting on a leaf, looking up at the sky.

Ginny continued walking and found a path into the woods. Just as she was about to step through the wooden gate to enter it, she felt a large burst of red flames rush towards her. She stumbled backwards, confused, and then ran as fast as she could back to the house. She didn't know what happened; all she knew was that the woods were not ready for her. She knew the manor and all it's grounds were mystical and powerful; if something were not ready for her, she would wait. If something seemed dangerous, she would back off.

When she reached her room, she collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily. Her eyes caught something glimmering on her small side-table and she reached out to grab it. She was surprised to find it was a ring with three stones inside of it. The left and right diamonds were small, but the center one was large and shone beautifully in the candlelight. On the inside of the band read _'Past - Present - Future.'_ Ginny smiled and read the small note that was tied to it:

_Well, here's to our past, present, and future together. I hope you learn not to hate me. This is the first step to getting married, isn't it? Tell me if I'm doing it wrong._

_- DM_

Ginny giggled. "No, you're doing it just right," she said to herself quietly before slipping the ring on and tiptoeing to her solstice by the moon.

-----------------

During lunch the next morning, Ginny stared at her ring as she ate her eggs. She and Draco were sitting on opposite sides of the table, neither one talking or mentioning the ring... or the wedding. To break the silence, Ginny coughed.

"Um... I'm going out today," she said, continuing her downward stare.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. A... birthday party. Is what I'm going to, I mean. I'm going to a birthday party. Right."

He rose an eyebrow; why was she telling him this? "Ooookay..."

"Just...so you know. I guess. Right, well. The party's at three. What time is it now, do you know?"

Draco glanced at his pocketwatch. "Two forty-five. Might as well leave now then, right?"

Ginny nodded. "Right... I'll go change and then I'll be on my way." She stood up and began to walk up to her room when Draco's voice stopped her.

"Potter's party, I'm presuming?"

"You presume correct," she replied, keeping her tone even. He said nothing, so she continued her way upstairs.

Draco didn't know what made his blood boil more, the fact that it was Potter's party, or the fact that he and Ginny would be at a party together... alone.

-----------------

"Ginny dear! I've missed you so! You look beautiful, what have you done with your hair? It's so straight, I love it! Your pigtails are adorable!" Mrs. Weasley gushed, hugging and kissing her daughter a billion times. On any normal occasion, Ginny would have scowled and hid away, embarrassed by the touchy-feely acts. But today, after not seeing her mum for the longest period ever, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed with her and read fairy tales. She had already said hello to Fred, George, Charlie, and her father; she was just waiting on the other guests.

"Ginny, hi," Hermione greeted, hugging her friend. "How've you been?"

"...Fine, I guess. As fine as I could be."

Hermione nodded. "Uh... listen, before the others arrive, can I talk to you? Alone?"

"Uh, sure," she replied, letting herself be pulled out onto the deck. She took a seat in the deck swing as Hermione began to pace in circles.

"Okay, so, after you left, we had our exams. You know, blah blah, exams. You know how they go. Then, well... Harry and... well..."

Ginny took a deep breath. "Spit it out, Hermione."

Hermione nodded. "Harry and Luna are going out."

Ginny was silent. "How soon after...?"

"Well... I'm not sure exactly..."

Ginny gave Hermione a look that distinctly said, 'tell me _now._'

"Two days after you left."

"So three days after..." She sighed. "So I'm that replaceable."

"We were all shocked," Hermione continued. "I mean, none of us could believe he'd move on so quick. I don't think he did - move on, I mean - but... he is _with_ her, and they seem... happy. Well, she does, at least, but when does Luna_ not_ look happy?"

Ginny began to get up. "When is Ron getting here? As soon as he comes, I'm leaving. I don't want Harry to see me - I don't want to ruin everything."

"Ginny..." Hermione said slowly, "Ron is coming with Harry and Luna. It's a surprise party. Luna and Ron are in on it... If you want to see Ron, you have to see Harry and -"

"Give my love to Ron, then," Ginny grunted, beginning to walk inside. "Because I don't want to see -"

"SURPRISE!"

Ginny's head shot up. Harry was standing in the doorway of the Burrow, laughing at his surprise, with Luna on his arm. Ron was heartily slapping Harry on the back. Happy eighteenth birthday, Harry. Happy wonderful life, Harry. Happy beautiful girlfriend, Harry.

"And look who's here, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said, pushing Ginny in Harry's view. "Ginny!"

Harry's smile faded. His grip on Luna became looser.

"Hi," Ginny said coldly. She crossed her arms. "Hello, Luna."

"Hi! How are you? And how's Draco?" Luna replied cheerily. Behind Ginny, Hermione hit herself in the face, shaking her head. How could Luna be so _stupid_?

"Oh, wonderful, wonderful. And how are you and Harry? Perfect, I _presume_?" Ginny used Draco's word from before as a way to show everyone, '_look, we're so close we use each other's vocabulary_.' Unfortunately, no one else had been there to hear it.

"Yes! We're fantastic. He and I are getting mar -"

Ron nudged her in the ribs and Harry's face turned five shades darker than it should have been.

"Gin, can I --"

"Talk to me? Yeah, please," Ginny spit, walking outside again. Harry sat down on the bench.

"Listen, she and I -"

Ginny shook her head. "Don't bother, Harry, I don't want to hear it. What did you do after you read my note? Think to yourself, 'hm, she seems to be over me already. Might as well get a new _shag_ while she's gone'?"

"No! Not at all, I -"

"You what, waited a few days so it wouldn't seem fresh, and then decided to ask her out? Or did my departing shine some bright light on Luna that you hadn't seen before? Or, have I just been blind this whole time, and you've _always_ been in love with her? Or are you _not_ in love with her, and you're only using her so you could replace me?"

"Now listen here," Harry hissed fiercely, "I may have done some bad stuff in the past, but I would _never_ do that to someone. Luna asked if I wanted to go with her to Hogsmeade the day before graduation. I realized we had a lot in common and we started hanging out. That eventually led to... going out."

Ginny crossed her arms. "So my letter did absolutely nothing to you?"

"Of course it did!"

"Obviously not, because a _day_ later you were on the way to going out with her! So tell me, did you shag her yet? I hope she realizes that when she cries, your body won't only be used to shelter her tears. You'll want a nice old shag in return."

Harry stood up. "_No regrets, Harry_ -- remember that? Who was the one who continued pushing sex on me? YOU! I didn't have that on the mind, Ginny, and it's unfair for you to say that. Just because you're jealous of my new girlfriend doesn't give you the right to make _me_ sound like the bad person."

"And you think_ I'm_ the bad person? I'm the one who's been NOTHING but GOOD! I'm the one who's tried to keep her head up through all the bad times! I'M the one who has to bloody wake up in the same HOUSE as DRACO MALFOY every morning, and I can't do ANYTHING to change that."

"STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT! Was it or was it not you who initiated the kiss? Was it not you who deepened the kiss? Was it not you who -"

Ginny's eyes were filled with tears and the makeup she had taken so long to put on was beginning to run. "Stop it. You're the one who's wrong."

"Just because I don't want to live my life thinking about what could have been doesn't make me wrong. You said it yourself, Ginny - there's no way we could be together. What am I supposed to do, wait?"

She ferociously wiped away the tears. "Screw my apologies. I'm not sorry about our lost future. I'm _glad_ I don't have a future with you. Happy bloody birthday." Immediately after her sentence, she ran inside.

"Mum, start up the floo. _Now_."

Mrs. Weasley looked around, flabbergasted. "What? Oh, Ginny, what's wrong?"

"Mum, do it. Please."

She nodded, then gave her daughter a handful of dust.

"Do tell me what the hurry is in an owl, please."

Ginny said yes, then threw the powder into the fire. "The Manor!" she yelled, and the green flames consumed her.

-----------------

Draco heard the sound of the floo being used in the sitting room and got up. Ginny had not even been gone an hour, why was she back already? Had she forgotten something? Or had she brought back Potter for a nice birthday shag?

"What, was the party lame?"

He watched as Ginny kept her back to him. "Yeah. Really lame."

Draco walked over to her. "Potter's no fun anymore?"

"No. Potter's... no fun."

He lightly pulled her shoulder, forcing her to face him. She easily turned around and he could see the tears in her eyes. Her small body began to shake as the tears erupted from her eyes and sobs came out from deep inside her throat.

"Did Potter hurt you? He didn't touch you, did he?"

Ginny shook her head, finding it hard to stand. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Harry doesn't want me anymore. I've been replaced. She's so much prettier than me... Me... He didn't care... it didn't mean _anything_ to him. He...didn't even want me there."

"I'll bloody murder the bastard!" he spat, beginning to walk to the floo, Ginny still attached to him.

"No... don't. Don't go. Just stay here. Please."

Draco stopped in his tracks. Something about her voice made him want to do anything she asked of him. Something about the way her arms felt around his neck made him want to melt. The feeling of her voice vibrating against his shoulder made him want to crucify Harry.

"Okay," he said gently, walking her to the couch. "Okay." He sat down and Ginny did as well, curling up into a ball next to him. She kept her arms and head in the same position and Draco lightly put his arm around her shoulder.

"Thank you..." she whispered. Then she thought of something. "And Draco?"

Draco shivered; it was the first time she had ever said his name. "Uh... yeah?"

"You're doing everything just right."

He smiled to himself as she let the tears come freely, crying onto his shoulder as if it were her last lifeline. And as she did so, Draco found his one weakness; the one thing that threw down his stone walls. _Her_.

_Author's Note: Well... I can't tell whether I liked this chapter or didn't, hehe. In some aspects I did like it but HARRY just PISSES ME OFF. However, it was necessary. I mean, if Harry wasn't a jerk, how else would Draco find out his weakness, EH? Anyway, thanks for all the fab reviews, guys. And to the reviewers who said they love the weird house-ness, don't worry... that's coming up. You guys just need to be packed with Draco/Ginny fluff, first!_

_As always... I don't own the songs written at the front of the chapter. Wish I did though, Bob Dylan is a great poet._

_FYI... Everyone should go see Narnia! It's ammaazziiinggg and if you like Harry Potter you'll love this movie, honest! The war scene fantabulous. _

_Xx, Liz_


	7. Part II, Chapter Six: Got it Bad

Part II, Chapter Six: Got it Bad

_If there's a prize for rotten judgement,  
I guess I've already won that  
No man is worth the aggravation  
That's ancient history - been there, done that_

_who you think you're kidding?  
He's the earth and heaven to you  
Try to keep it hidden  
Honey, we can see right through it  
We know how you feel and who you're thinking of_

_I thought my heart had learned its lesson  
It feels so good when you start out  
My mind is saying get a grip, girl  
Unless you're dying to cry your heart out  
_

_You keep on denying who you are and how you're feeling  
Baby, we're not buying, hun we saw you hit the ceiling  
Face it like a grown up, when you gonna own up  
That you got - got - got it bad?_

_...I won't say I'm in love!_

- Hercules Soundtrack (I Won't Say I'm In Love)

When Ginny awoke, she was wrapped up in a blanket she didn't remember ever owning on the couch by the fire. Confused, she sat up, trying to recall what had happened the day before. As soon as she did so, she felt... well, she felt stupid. At the moment, she could only remember exaggerated bits and pieces of the party, with her mind adding emphasis to the words Harry said and subtracting strength from her sentences. Ah, the joys of a female brain. After a few moments, however, she remembered the floo... and Draco.

He had been kind to her. With a gasp, she remembered how she had asked -- no, _begged_ -- him to stay with her. What would compel her to say such a thing, to Draco no less? She had acted as if she liked him, as if she couldn't live without him.

She could, couldn't she? If Draco were to leave one day out of the blue, she could cope, right?

"Ah... you're up."

Ginny turned around to see Draco walking in the room, adjusting the buttons on his oxford shirt. It wasn't fully buttoned, so she could see the beginnings of a chest. With a blush she lowered her eyes.

"Yeah. Just got up."

Draco smiled to himself at her shyness and looked down, focusing on the buttons. "So... I'm going to be going out."

"Why? Where are you going?" The questions were out before she could even think. It was a reaction, a quick 'don't leave me' kind of answer. It wasn't shocking or too emotional. It was just odd, how it was about _Draco_.

"Some... business-like things to attend to." Although she was still looking down, she could tell he was smirking at her response.

She played with a strand of thread on the blanket as she tried to keep her voice even. "Oh... for how long?"

Draco shrugged. "Probably until late tonight. At the latest... tomorrow morning. If that's happens, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Don't you remember? I don't sleep," she stated.

"Yes, well, that wasn't the case last night, was it?"

It took her a moment to realize what that meant. "You... stayed here all night?"

He said nothing, only walked to her and patted her on the head. It was a sweet -- but annoying and patronizing -- gesture that left Ginny yearning for answers.

"I'll see you later." With that, the front door closed shut.

Later _when_? How long would she have to wait?

-----------------

Rain was pouring down on Harry Potter's front lawn, causing large, ocean-like puddles to open up in his grass. Harry watched as Luna chased her small, yellow cat around in the rain, her beautiful outfit beginning to get drenched. She was wearing a long, poofy yellow skirt, a yellow tanktop, yellow tie-up sandals, and a crown of flowers she had lazily assembled that afternoon.

Pumpkin Blossom -- the cat -- defied gravity and jumped up a tree, causing Luna to jump up and down in a desperate attempt to get her kitten. With a small smile, Harry threw on a random pair of shoes and a shirt and ran outside in the rain to help her.

"Oi, Harry, Pumpkin's in the tree!" she gasped, her clothes sticking to her body.

"I noticed," Harry replied. With a simple push, the branch fell out and Pumpkin fell into his arms. Luna cooed-slash-scolded Pumpkin and then glanced at her boyfriend.

"You made it look so easy," she said with a pout. "How long would it have taken for just me?"

"A while," he answered, then got a good look at her.

"I must look quite amusing." She looked down at her wet clothes. "I must be quite a sight."

"Yeah. Quite a sight," he repeated.

She spun around in the rain. "I don't care, though. You do know that, right?"

Harry nodded feverishly.

Another spin. "And I won't ever change. You know that too?"

He nodded again.

Luna rushed into his arms. "Then kiss me, won't you? We're both wet anyway, no need to go inside. Won't you take a walk with me?" She was always like this: saying many thoughts at once, wanting many things at the same time. Harry always gave in to all that she wanted, answered all that she asked. So, first he kissed her, then he took her hand and began walking the grounds.

"Harry... Do you still love Ginny?" Luna asked suddenly.

Without a second thought, Harry answered, "No."

-----------------

"OOMPF!"

Ginny picked up a large trunk with much difficulty and moved it over to the side. She was going through her side of the manor room by room, making a list of interesting things, beautiful things, and things she'd wait to open (just until Draco got home). Halfway through her crusade her hair had gotten in some sort of half-up-half-down hairdo that would have suited her twelve-year-old self rather than her sixteen-year-old self. To make her look even more immature, she was wearing a Mickey Mouse tee-shirt that Hermione had brought back from Euro Disney that only _just_ reached her stomach, a yellow vest on top of that (to make herself look a _bit_ more mature), boots (because she was extremely sick of getting splinters), and she was listening to a CD of instrumental music.

All in all, she looked utterly ridiculous. But what did it matter? Draco wasn't coming home until 'later.' And who knew when that was?

She let out a grunt as she fanned herself off. This job was getting grueling, and this room was no longer the beautiful sports room it once was. Instead, it was sort of a mish-mosh of furniture with some sports accessories thrown in here and there. Ginny felt like a six year old who thought cleaning her room would be fun -- come on, it sounds fun in the beginning -- and then half-way through wants her mum to help finish the job. Exchange 'room' for 'manor' and you have Ginny's situation.

After trying to open the chest a total of sixteen times, she felt she was at the brink of insanity.

"Alright," she said to herself, "Just a quick break and I'll be fine."

She darted to the kitchen, opened the fridge and began scooping out ice cream (Draco had gone shopping -- what a shock -- a few days ago, and asked her what she wanted from the store. Hands down, she wanted ice cream. Thank god.) Once she was done, she added a cherry, then took a lick. With one touch of her tongue against the cold ice cream, she was in heaven. The coolness of the ice cream and the hottness of the weather combined into one nice mix of feelings. She leaned against the fridge in ecstasy.

And that was exactly the case Draco found her in.

It took him a second to look past the way her back arched against the fridge just by eating ice cream and the complete bareness of her legs, but once he did, he absorbed her outfit. He burst out in laughter, shocking Ginny.

"What the bloody HELL?" She screamed, dropping her ice cream. She screamed again once she realized she was half-naked in front of Draco. She immediately threw open the fridge door and stood behind it. "Get out!"

"It's _my_ kitchen!"

Ginny grumbled. "I'm... indecent!"

_Oh, no, you're decent alright... _"I've seen half-naked girls before, Weasley."

_Oh, _have_ you?_ Ginny thought to herself. "Not _this_ half-naked girl!"

Draco pouted exaggeratedly. "What, I'm not good enough?"

Ginny sighed and closed the door, then stood straight.

"Happy? - Stop staring at me!"

Draco did nothing but smirk.

She bent down to begin cleaning up the fallen ice cream with a paper towel, and Draco couldn't help but _stare_. He hated himself for it. He was becoming too aware of her existence... and her outfits.

"You're staring again."

He blushed slightly and sat down at the kitchen table. "Why are you wearing a shirt with a mouse on it?"

"You've never heard of Mickey Mouse?" Ginny asked, throwing away the napkin.

"Should I have?"

Ginny shrugged. "You poor, _poor_, deprived man." She sat down across from him. "What are you doing back so early? I thought you wouldn't be back until 'later.'"

"It _is_ later. You do realize it's five, right?"

"FIVE?" she repeated with a gasp. "Are you bloody kidding me? I've been working for over six hours?"

"Working? What have you been doing?" he asked.

Ginny toyed her shirt tails. "Um... well, in my twisted mind, cleaning. I was going through a bunch of the rooms and looking at stuff. I found a really nice chest, I just can't open it."

"Mind if I give it a try?"

They walked up to the sport's room and Ginny pointed to the chest, as if saying 'that's the evil sonuvabiatch!' Within two tries Draco had it unlocked, sending an amused glance Ginny's way.

"Damn," she whispered, sitting next to him and opened the lid, looking inside. It seemed to be a chest of dresses and skirts -- beautiful ones at that. She gingerly held one skirt between her fingers, staring at the gorgeous red ruffles. Attached to the skirt was a red tank top with white accents and

"Are you going to try it on, then?"

Ginny looked as though she was going to laugh at the thought. "That's a good one."

"I don't see why it's funny. Don't you want to know how it looks on?"

Ginny glanced at the skirt, then at him. "Should I?"

"I don't see any harm in it. It's meant to be wearing, isn't it? Besides, if you don't get that outfit off soon, I'll be forced to take it off myself."

Her eyes widened... and so did he.

Draco stuttered to think of a save. "I mean -- it's really -- I... just try the skirt on, will you?"

She laughed and nodded, closing the door behind her and leaving Draco to shun himself for saying something so stupid.

_Now she's going to think you're a bloody perv! _Draco scolded. _Why couldn't I keep my bloody mouth shut?_

Before Draco could continue lecturing himself, Ginny carefully stepped in the room, blushing deep and looking down. Draco was shocked at how well the outfit fit her, and how it seemed it was made specifically for her. The skirt clung to her hips and fell down to the floor in dramatic ruffles with a large slit going up to her calf. The shirt didn't fit quite as well -- it was a bit _too_ tight -- but she still looked beautiful.

Not that Draco thought she was beautiful or anything.

"Well...?" She asked, slowly looking up. "Do I look completely slutty, or what?"

Draco chose his words carefully. "I don't think _'slutty'_ is the correct word..."

Ginny blushed and stepped further into the room. It was silent other than the music in the background, which had now changed to a song by Phillip Glass. She sat next to Draco and began looking at the other dresses, hardly moving so that he couldn't see any bit of skin too well. Although she was known to be open and not restrictive with boys, it was different with Draco. She didn't know why.

"Do you... want to dance?" Draco asked quietly, amazed at himself for even asking. In this room, it was as if he was a puppet and someone was pulling his strings to make him act a certain way. In this case, the 'certain way' was a stupid, spineless git who kept ogling Ginny.

"Sure," replied Ginny, and she was amazed at herself, too.

They slowly began to do a sort of waltz to the beat, Ginny keeping her head down as they put their arms around each other. She couldn't believe what was happening -- she was slow dancing with Draco Malfoy, and she didn't feel sick. She didn't have the urge to throw him out a window or anything like that. On the contrary, the only feelings she had were that of a very drunk person -- giddy -- and that of a convict on trial -- nervous.

Ginny looked up for a minute, confused on whether she was stepping right, and ended up looking into his eyes. She found it difficult to look away; the penetrating glare of cold, silver-blue eyes on warm, honey-brown was unbreakable. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head to the side, and Draco smirked to himself. This room was definitely his favorite.

-----------------

Somehow -- Ginny could not recall how -- she found herself in her room, swaying to the beat. Before she could help herself, she was settling in bed, closing her eyes as if she usually did this. She did not expect dreams to come, or for her to actually fall asleep.

But they did.

_Harry was sitting on a couch with Luna in a strange house. It seemed to be bits and pieces of every house Ginny had ever known -- a bit of Harry's flat, some of Grimmauld Place, some of the Burrow's, and lastly, some of the Manor's. The painting of Andasar, Fayebris, and Elye was behind the couple. Ginny stood in the middle of the room, looking around for some sign of life other than the snogging couple. _

_"Harry?" She asked, taking a few steps towards the two. "What's going -"_

_A burst of fire enveloped the couch, making it impossible for her to pass. She tried to walk around it, but the fire kept getting larger and larger. She tried everything to get to Harry, but he didn't hear her pleas or her calls. He was too busy with _Luna

Replaceable even in your dreams, eh, Weasel?_' A voice hissed. Ginny could not find where the voice was coming from, but she wanted it to stop. _

_  
"Go away -- Leave me alone!"_

_"Ginny?" _

_She spun around; Fred was standing on a staircase made of snakes. "What's wrong?"_

_"Fred, please, don't stand there! You're going to get - " Before she could finish her sentence, the staircase swallowed up Fred, then turned into a normal set of stairs. With a strangled cry she ran towards them, slamming on the floor, crying for her brother._

_  
'_Bad things will happen if you stay, Weasel. It's in your best interest to go. Let the curse eat you alive.

_"No! I won't become subject to this curse! I will fight it, I promise!"_

_The scene changed, and suddenly she was in Draco's room, standing in front of his mirror. In the mirror, a reflection of Ginny's scar began taking up all of her body until the only things left were her eyes, turning backwards slowly. She screamed and threw Draco's lamp, from the sidetable, at the mirror. It shattered with a 'crash,' showing a room behind the mirror, just like in her favorite play._

_"Ginny?" Draco asked, stepping in front of her and putting his arms on her shoulders._

_"What are you doing here?" she asked, hugging him slightly for protection, "Are you in the wrong dream?"_

_"No. I'm in the _right_ nightmare. Come on, let's go." _With a push, she woke up, breathing heavily.

"Where am I?" She looked around: she was in Draco Malfoy's room. "What the hell just happened?"

Draco sighed, sitting down on the bed and motioning her to do so, too. She obliged as he explained.

"After you went up to bed, I sat in here and I was reading. All of a sudden I hear you screaming bloody murder on the staircase, so I run out there and you're nowhere to be found. I didn't get what happened - you were _definitely_ just there a second ago, but whatever. I was tired and kind of out of it, so I figured it was all in my head. It wasn't.

"Once I reached my room again, you were standing here, freaking out in front of my mirror. You threw my lamp at it, and it shattered. I was worried, so I touched your shoulder, and immediately it was like I was in your dream. Now, would _you_ like to tell me what this is all about?"

Ginny said nothing, but looked at the mirror. The mirror hadn't broken all the way through like it had in her dream, but it left a few crack marks.

Draco glanced inside, then looked at Ginny. "Do you want to talk about it...?"

"No. Not now. It's... what... 12 in the morning?"

"Four, actually."

Ginny grumbled. "Even more reason. I have to get back to sleep." She began walking back to her room, but Draco grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"You're going to go back to bed? What if you start sleep walking again?" he asked while doubting himself on what the hell he was doing.

"I... don't know. I'm too tired to think of anything. I have to sleep. Really. I'm kind of... scared though."

Draco sighed and sat down on his bed, looking at Ginny expectantly. "Well? What are you waiting for, then?"

"Ex_cuse_ me?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't be a perv, Weasley. The first time you went to sleep was when you were with me. I'm tired, you're tired. You can't go to bed without me, and I can't sleep a wink with you screaming in the hallways. Win-win situation."

Ginny began to walk towards the bed, then stopped right before sitting. "You're sure?"

"_Yes_. Will you hurry? I'm tired," Draco said, ignoring his fast beating heart as best he could.

"Okay..." she sat down on the bed, then slowly laid down. Draco reached over her to turn off the other lamp, then looked down at Ginny. He could tell she was anxious, too - for reasons he couldn't think of, didn't want to imagine.

And for some reasons beyond his comprehension, he did the unthinkable before turning off the light.

He kissed her on the head.

Then he quickly switched the light off, turned so his back was facing Ginny, and got under the covers. Ginny laid in bed straight as a board, blushing like crazy. She faced Draco and whispered, "Goodnight, Draco."

Draco said nothing until he could hear her breathing become even, the telltale sign she was asleep. When he was sure, he whispered, "'Night, _Gin_."

-----------------

_Mrs Weasley  
August 1st  
The Burrow_

_Dear Mum,_

_I think I'm in love with Draco Malfoy. I don't want to be. I don't know why. I don't know how. I don't even really know what love is, considering I've been wrong before. For example: Dean. How _sure_ was I that day when he came to pick me up during the summer? So, so sure. So incredibly _sure_ that he was the one for me. How stupid was I?_

_Another example: _Harry Potter_. He's with Luna, mum. After all those years I spent pining for his affection, all the times I wished and hoped and prayed that he would like me... and then when he finally does, he rules my universe. And then when he breaks up with me, although I understand - and really, I did - I fall to pieces._

_And then, I _give myself up for him._ I did, mum, I'm so ashamed to say it. It was our last day, our last chance. I wish I had never done that. Because when I saw him the other day, at his party, with Luna... I felt my heart break_ again_. Seriously, I felt it fall apart. Break in two. Crack into pieces, and I felt that I couldn't stand being in the same room as him, or Luna. Because I was that _replaceable.

_And you know who met me when I came home, mum? Draco Malfoy. He held me in his arms, and said he'd kill Harry for making me feel this way. He helped me get to sleep. _I fell asleep in his arms, Mum._ I know you know how big that is. So big. So, so, so big. And then, yesterday for example. I had a nightmare, and instead of just telling me to go back to sleep... he went in my nightmare. He took me out of it and stayed with me. He helped me go to sleep_ again.

_And I danced with him before, did I tell you? Out of nowhere, he asked me to dance to some classical music. It was so random, just 'do you want to dance?' I don't even know how it happened. I can hardly think. My brain is spinning and the only thing that's in focus is the paper, the quill, and the view of his cold, cold, cold eyes and how they warmed for just a second. Not even. But the fact that I saw them warm..._

_I don't know what I'm saying, Mum. I think I'm going crazy. _

_But I will not admit I'm in love with Draco Malfoy._

_Love (I am so sick of that word),  
Ginny_

**Author's note: hmm... I don't know lol. I don't think I can trust my opinions on my chapters anymore, because last time I was so-so and you guys ended up liking it. So what's the verdict on this one? I originally had the song 'Unwritten,' based on the whole dancing part... but I think with the letter, this song ties in better. YOU GUYS SHOULD ALL DOWNLOAD THIS SONG. I swear, you will ALL be singing along. I know I usually am! especially to the Disney Mania version! (Sings off-key) (Entire family cringes) Wow... am I 15 or 5? (Wonders)**

**Thank you all for your fabulous reviews. Keep it up, please! (Smile)**

**  
X, Liz**


	8. Part II, Chapter Seven: Starting Over

Part II, Chapter Seven: Starting Over

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry  
You don't know how lovely you are  
I had to find you, tell you I need you  
Tell you I set you apart_

_Nobody said it was easy  
Oh it's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be this hard  
Oh, take me back to the start_

- Coldplay (The Scientist)

_It's the most wonderful time of the year  
There'll be much mistletoeing  
And hearts will be glowing  
When loved ones are near  
It's the most wonderful time of the year._

- Eddie Pola, George Wyle (It's The Most...)

Time had passed since her letter to her mother. 4 months, about: it was now December, a few days before Christmas. Nothing changed between she and Draco; it was only awkward, odd, and sometimes tense. She stopped sleeping in his room, and instead made sure each night she was tucked away upstairs with the moon.

_Okay, let's think. I was in the kitchen when I had my notebook last, I remember that because I was writing a _particularly_ interesting story about a little girl who had too much to eat, based on a true story that just _happened _to occur as I wrote it. I think she blew up, I don't remember. ...Getting off subject. Anyway, it was in the kitchen. But... no, it's not. It has to be _somewhere

Ginny sighed. She had, once again, misplaced her creative writing notebook. This was her _lifeline_, the only thing that she had since year 2. Since August 1st, especially, this notebook was important to her. It was all her pathetic stories, poetry, etc. Pretty much anything that popped into her head at the moment she would write down. If anyone were to read that book, they would think she was one insane girl. She wasn't, really. Just... a bit off at times.

_Ah! Could I have left it in the Foyer? I think I wrote it after I wrote to mum, didn't I? Let's look, then..._

She began walking from the kitchen to the foyer, passing the main room/staircase. However, she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her stop. Something was different... though she couldn't quite place what it was. The stairs were still there, with their color coordinated carpets... the bookcases, plants, and statues were still surrounding the main staircase... So what was it?

Could it be... A-ha! The painting! It was _definitely_ the painting. But what about it was wrong? Almost immediately her question was answered - Elye was missing.

"Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy _crap_!" She muttered to herself. "Where could a baby go? A painting. Not even a real baby! A BABY PAINTING. Where the hell would a baby painting go? Draco... have to tell Dra - DAMNIT!"

Draco, she remembered, was out and wouldn't be back until 'later,' but if he was needed, she could probably reach him at the Malfoy Mansion. So, basically, she was alone.

In a huge manor.

With a wandering painting-baby. Whatever that meant.

"Okay... maybe I'm just seeing things." She shut her eyes, then sloooooowly opened them. Damnit! Still missing! "So I'm not just seeing things. Okay. Okay, it's fine, things like this happen all the time. You always read about it in the Daily Prophet -- '_Painting Baby Goes Missing, Girl is a Wreck!'_"

Ginny began pacing, then began slowly stepping up the stairs to review the painting closer. Every step she made seemed to take an eternity until finally, _finally_, she was in front of the painting. She stared at it closely; Fayebris and Andasar looked exactly the same. Everything was normal except for the big gap in Fayebris' arms.

"Hey... Hey you," Ginny whispered, tapping Andasar on the head. "Your baby's missing. Know where it is?"

No answer.

"Um... Excuse me, miss. Your daughter is missing," she tried again, and lightly poked Fayebris in the arm.

No movement. Not even a flicker of comprehension.

"So, what, your baby's alive and you're not? A lot of help you are!"

Suddenly, from behind her, something fell. She shrieked loudly, jumping up. She turned around, half expecting to see a large, one dimensional piece of paper shaped like Elye, but only found a knocked-over statue... and nothing else.

Ginny took a few deep breaths, wringing her fingers. "Okay. It was nothing. Just the wind... despite the fact that there are no windows in here and the door is practically bolted shut. It was just the nonexsistent wi-"

Another large bang coming from upstairs, followed by five more consistent _ping_, _bang, boop, _and_ clammer_ noises. Quickly, she ran to the foyer, threw floo powder in the fireplace and yelled, "THE BURROW!"

-----------------

"MUM!" Ginny yelled, running into the house. Instead of seeing what she thought she would -- her mother, at the kitchen table, probably cooking something -- she saw Harry Potter. "...Not mum..."

Harry looked up. "Oh... Mrs. Weasley is um... out."

"Oh." Ginny began walking back to the floo. Just as she was about to throw the green dust into the fire, Harry called out to her. She turned around, meeting his eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um... um, no..."

Harry smirked and walked up to her. "Come on, Gin. I've known you all your life, I _know_ when something's up."

Ginny sighed and began telling him about the missing painting, the fallen statue, and the noises. She calmly explained how she, being the strong woman she was, ran to mommy at the first sign of danger. Harry did not laugh; instead, looked quite serious.

"I don't like that manor, Gin," he said. "It sounds dark."

"Well, there are candles...?"

Harry shook his head. "Dark_ magic_. Would you mind if I went back there with you and checked it out?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "Oh... sure, I guess..." They began walking to the floo before Harry looked at her.

"I don't want it to be weird between us anymore. I really didn't mean to hurt you. I just... couldn't spend all my time thinking about you. Although we're not together I still love you... just... as friends. I understand if you don't feel the same way."

"Harry," she said, "I don't want things to be weird, either. You did hurt me, but I did evoke some of your anger myself. What we have done in the past should stay in the past, okay? Being friends with you sounds wonderful."

They each threw the dust into the fire and distinctly said, "THE MANOR" as they spun into the swirling green flames.

-----------------

"Oh, my..." The words melted on Ginny's lips as she looked around; everything was either knocked over, chipped, or just missing. "The painting baby strikes again!"

It would have been funny, if it wasn't so true. Because honestly, the truth was that the painting baby (for lack of a better name) was still missing, and still wreaking havoc.

"Alright, well... it's missing, and it has to be somewhere. So I guess we could start looking in the foyer...?"

Harry nodded, and so it began. After a few minutes, Harry opened up a wardrobe, and craziness ensued. All of a sudden, over a dozen green and silver nymphs flew out, pulling Harry's hair and Ginny's. They were grabbing things, throwing things, pulling things...

"What's - going - ON?" Ginny yelled over the overwhelming manic giggle of the nymphs.

"Don't - know -" replied Harry, his knees buckling as a few nymphs hit him from behind. The nymphs were everyone, zooming around like little maniacs. As Ginny stumbled near Harry to help him up, the nymphs began spilling endless circles around them until they seemed to form one big green-and-silver sparkling blur. As they collapsed, Ginny found all thoughts disappearing until the only thing she could hear was the fluttering of wings and the whispers of many dulled voices.

-----------------

Draco walked in the room and gasped: what the bloody hell had happened when he was gone? As he looked around, the shock only got bigger.

"Weasel? Are you here? Are you...okay?" he called, walking around in circles. He heard some sounds from the foyer so he followed the noises until he saw Ginny laying on Harry underneath a blanket of something silver, green, and glittering. "What the fu(you can imagine the last two letters here)?"

Ginny jumped up, waking Harry. They were a bit confused at first, but Harry understood Draco's accusations right away and stepped away from Ginny, putting his hands up.

"Listen, nothing happened -"

But Draco wouldn't hear it. "Get out."

Ginny finally came to and stared, wide eyed at Draco. "Draco, seriously, nothing -"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, SCARHEAD!"

Harry shook his head. "Goodbye, _Ginny_. I hope you find the portrait baby."

"I SAID OUT!"

With a pop, Harry apparated to his flat, leaving Draco and Ginny in uncomfortable silence.

"So is that what you do while I'm not here? Shag Potter?" he asked dryly, venom dripping from his voice.

"Draco, stop. It wasn't like that. He just came over to..."

Draco cut her off. "I always thought you were smarter than that, Weasley. You bloody cried over him - I guess he's decided you're not _replaceable_ anymore, are you? I'm sure you mean a whole lot to him as he goes home to his _girlfriend_."

Ginny shook her head and stood up, tears filling her eyes. "NOTHING happened! If you would just let me explain -"

"There's nothing to explain," he spat.

"Yes there is! Elye came out of the painting, and so I got scared and ran to get my mum, but Harry was there instead, and -"

Draco shook his head. "I knew it wouldn't work between us, no matter how hard we tried. We're just too different, always were and always will be."

"I thought we were supposed to forget about our past," whispered Ginny. "We were supposed to start new... We were supposed to learn how to -"

"Why the bloody hell would you do something like that? Were you even _thinking_? He's made you cry _how_ many bloody times already?"

Ginny stepped away from him, tears filling her wide brown eyes. "You're _exactly_ how I thought you would be. Cold and heartless until the day you die. You'll never be able to show any empathy, or love - you don't even know what 'love' is." She took her ring off her finger and threw it on the floor. "Take your bloody ring back, I won't need it anymore." With that, she ran out of the foyer and out the front doors.

-----------------

_As I row, row, row  
Going so slow, slow, slow  
Just down below me is the old sea  
Just down below me is the old sea  
Nobody knows, knows, knows  
So many things, things, so  
So out of range  
Sometimes so strange  
Sometimes so sweet  
Sometimes so lonely_

_...You just have to go, go, go  
Where I don't know, know, know  
This is the thing  
Somebody told me  
A long time ago_

Ginny was running, running, running as fast as her small legs would permit. She had no direction, no plan, no idea of what was going to happen next. She let her legs set the course and let them take her where they wanted. She found herself brushing through trees, bushes, forests. Leaves fell down, mud splashed on her flowered pale green skirt and on her beige boots, water dripped from the trees from a storm that occurred practically days before.

The ground was going from rough grass to softer moss, causing her to slip and slide a bit. She was no longer in viewing distance from the manor, but she could still see the top of it's highest tower where she once 'slept' - and that was too close for her. She began getting closer to the wooden gate that she once tried opening, the one that led to the beautiful forest. Without stopping, she threw the gate open and continued running - and it allowed her to enter.

The forest was magical; this much she knew for sure. She could tell in the way everything shimmered and the way there was some sort of consistent noise that reminded her of the tempting magic she read about in fairy tales; The type of magic that was always there in the forms of needles, ready for you to prick your finger and fall into a deep slumber, never to awaken unless you were kissed by the love of your life.

She ran, not paying attention to much, until finally she couldn't breathe. Her lungs felt as though they were on fire, and her legs throbbed insanely. She finally took a look around her surroundings and gasped; in front of her, there was a large waterfall that spilled out into a deep lake. Because of the winter, it was now icy and frozen - but still beautiful. Everything was frozen in place. Beautiful rocks surrounded the edge, providing a seat-like place for her to sit. She lightly sat down next to the lake, sighing. This, right here, was so peaceful.

But then there was a rumbling in the distance, a cold breeze. A whisper in the air: _'Ginny_. She looked around, but no one was there. Thinking it was just in her head, she closed her eyes - but the voice returned. She opened her eyes and saw a woman coming out of the ice. Her long hair was thin, flowing and blue, and her eyes were as clear as water. She wore a damp, form-fitting light blue gown.

"Ginny. Don't you love it here?"

Her brain automatically answered: _yes_.

"Then you should live here with us," the woman purred, smiling. "Forget Malfoy and his silly little schemes. He doesn't deserve you. You'd _love_ it here. You could do anything you want; all the magic of the world would be in the palm of your hand."

_Yesyesyes_, her brain responded, _yes_. All she wanted was to touch the lady's arms, hands, feet, hair, skin... Maybe then the magic would be with her...

"All you have to do is go into Malfoy's room and get his ring. The one with the serpent, yes? Just get it and bring it back to me. Then you can stay here _forever_."

_Forever_. The word echoed Ginny's mind as she nodded, half-there, grabbing her shoes and stumbling out of the forest at top-speed. The trip seemed shorter than it had before, and she found herself almost immediately up to Draco's room, sneaking around, walking on her tiptoes. She peeked around the corner; no one was there. _Good_. She climbed up the final twisty-turny steps and slowly opened Draco's door - he was laying in bed, eyes closed, deep in sleep. She looked around for his ring - his lifeline. He didn't always wear it, did he?

Her question was answered as she caught sight of his silver, glimmering, beautiful ring. Captivated, she reached out and grabbed the ring. In a blink of an eye, Draco's arm shot out and grabbed her wrist, causing her to gasp.

"What are you doing in here, Weasel?"

Ginny stuttered incomprehensibly. "I - the - and - your ring was dirty?"

"And you sensed that from outside and decided to clean it for me?"

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. "It doesn't bloody matter, does it? _Justgivemethering_."

"Why?" He asked, though he had a flicker of an idea of why she needed it. "I don't usually give away valuables to people who shag in my house."

"I DIDN'T SHAG -" She took a deep breath. "Just give it to me. Pleaasseee?"

He opened his mouth to say something but the moment he did, she grabbed the ring and was out of the room in a flash. He chased her, following her down the steps, out of the house, and through the woods. They ran to the forest and it began to dawn on him what was happening.

"Weasel, listen to me, do _not_ trust the lady of the lake!"

"You just don't want me to have magic more powerful than you! Because if I did, you know the first thing I'd do was get rid of your bloody family!" she yelled back, willing her legs to run faster.

"You don't know what you're saying!"

That just added fuel to her fire. "I'm sick of you telling me everything I _don't_ know! One day I'm going to tell you about the things YOU don't know, then won't YOU be surprised?" She ran, ran, ran until finally she reached the lady of the lake.

"Do you have the ring, Ginny?" she asked, putting her thin, long arms out as if to hug Ginny.

"Yes, yes I do! Here it -"

"Accio ring!" Draco yelled, the ring flying into the palm of his hands.

Ginny saw fire. She turned around and ran to him. "Give me that back! Give it to me, you stupid git!"

"She's not to be trusted, Weasel. Just _listen_ to me!"

"WHY SHOULD I?" She threw herself into him, but he stood solid, faltering slightly. She kicked his knee and he yelled out. Ginny ran to the ring, which was now on the floor, and picked it up. She tripped to get it to the lady. Right before they had a chance to connect - hand to ring, ring to finger - Draco stood up and concentrated on difficult wandless magic.

"_Suovamarus!_"

Ginny sucked in a cold breath and retreated her hand as the beautiful lady turned into a red ball of fire. It was ugly, dripping with red gush that looked like blood. Ginny took many steps back and held onto Draco's arm, the magic tarnished. She no longer felt compelled to touch the flesh of the lady.

"_Bursitimo!_" Draco yelled, and the lady fell away with a shriek, flying into the distance.

"What... what did you do to the lady?"

Draco looked down into Ginny's eyes. "Just let you see her for who she really is. She's one of the curses that Godric left behind to scare you away from here. That's the one thing my mother _did_ tell me about the curse."

Ginny looked at her hands, glancing at the ring. "Here... here you are."

He took the ring, slipped it onto his finger, and began walking back. As he did, snow began to lightly fall, and Ginny felt tears corrupt her clear eyes. She cried because of what she and Draco had, for a short time, and how she ruined it by going to Harry. She wondered why it mattered to Draco so much - why the thought of her being with Harry made his skin crawl so. But she tried to push it from her mind, walking slowly back and hugging herself to keep warm. The snow began flaking in her hair and collecting on her eyelashes, and as she cried, it was as if her tears became ice... just like Draco.

-----------------

The owl post came the next day, sending along Christmas presents from family and friends. Her mum bought her a beautiful, thin, white antique lace dress that she said belonged to her great-great-great grandmother, Ron and Bill bought her a small computer game of Quidditch, Percy bought her a 'emergency safety kit,' Charlie bought her a book of dragons, the twins bought her a new pygmy puff (her old one died, poor dear), and her father bought her a sketchbook along with charcoal. Hermione bought her a romance-slash-vampire novel called 'Twilight' by Stephenie Meyer, and Harry added his present along with hers - a beautiful emerald quill and stationary with her initials on them.

There was one package left that Ginny didn't know what to do with - one from Draco. Letting her heart get the best of her, she ripped it open... and found her beautiful engagement ring inside with a new necklace that had a small Slytherin snake dangling on it. Along with it was a note: _Have a nice Christmas._

Looking at her jewelry box, she began to formulate an idea.

-----------------

Draco wasn't fond of Christmas fun and such - he preferred to sleep alone in his room with the curtain drawn and a sound repelling charm on the door. He thought Christmas was far too giggly, romantic, fluffy. Draco thought people did stupid things on Christmas 'just because it was Christmas.' He didn't buy presents for anyone, didn't receive them either. That was why he was surprised to see, later in the day when he finally woke up, a small present on the chair next to his bed.

It was wrapped in green wrapping paper and tied with a silver bow. As he gently went over to open it, he felt a familiar feeling in the back of his throat. Inside the box was a thin silver chain with the Gryffindor lion dangling on it. He knew that it was Ginny's for certain - all students got a necklace with a pendant such as this during their first year. He had given her the same type for Christmas, though he wasn't certain why. He just felt that the ring looked too lonely by itself in that big box...

He opened the small card, written in green ink, and read it:

_Merry Christmas. I'm still waiting for the day to tell you what I know and you don't. _

_Can we start over?_

_Love (_which was crossed out_) Sincerely (_which was crossed out also_) Love,_

_Ginny Weasley, fondly known as 'Weasel.'_

Draco smiled to himself and slipped the chain over his neck and underneath his button up shirt. He opened his door to go and get Ginny and say thank-you, but found she was already in his doorway, poised to knock. It was silent as they looked at each other, saying nothing. Ginny looked down, and Draco took the opportunity to surprise her with a small, gentle kiss. As they broke away, Draco couldn't help but smile as she blushed heavily. He couldn't stand the way she looked... the way she blushed... everything about her was too overwhelming. Although he was still angry about she and Harry... he couldn't be mad for long, at least not today.

Besides, it was Christmas.

_**Author's Note: Sorry if this is rushed - wanted to get this out before the maintance thing, and I'm sorry if you think that I skipped ahead too quick - but do you know how depressing it is to write about August when tomorrow is Christmas? I hope you do like this chapter though. I've been writing it all day to make the day go faster. Is it just me or is Christmas Eve the longest day of the year? I think it is. I swear, it's been 6 o'clock for the past 4 hours! And anyway, I had to have Ginny and Draco get back together. Well... not together! But you know. Whatever, now I'm rambling and it's STILL 6:47. Gosh! By the way, the song halfway through the chapter was "The Rowing Song," don't know who it's by but it was on a radio station once so I wrote it down in my planner, heehee.**_

_**Anyway, fond wishes to all of you during this season, whatever holiday you celebrate. Have a good one!**_

_**Xox, Liz**_

_**PS: I just checked over this chapter twice, and guess what time it is. 6:59! HOW PATHETIC IS THAT?**_


	9. Part II, Chapter Eight: Dance, Dance

Part II, Chapter Eight: Dance, Dance

_Dance, dance  
We're falling apart to half time  
Dance, dance  
And these are the lives you'd love to lead  
Dance, this is the way they'd love me  
if they knew how misery loved me_

- Fall Out Boy (_Dance, Dance_)

When Draco said he would try not to be mad, would try starting over... he meant it. In the days following Christmas, he and Ginny got a little closer than before, even though they could barely look each other in the eyes. Although he didn't make a transformation into a lovey-dovey open man who had no boundaries and was always warm, he did let down a few of his walls. It was uncomfortable to do so, but he did. He left a few boundaries up, though. For example, his birthday was coming up. And Ginny didn't necessarily have to know.

As Blaise had once told him, "It's clear that your birthday is in January - just to match your character." When Draco had asked for further explanation, Blaise replied with a simple, "You're cold" and a shrug. Draco couldn't deny it - he always had been cold. He knew Ginny would probably want to know, and would probably be a little ticked off knowing that he didn't tell her, but he felt as if this was the last piece of secrecy he had in his life.

He was the day before his birthday and to busy himself, he had begun cleaning up the house. Mysteriously, the 'painting baby' had returned to her rightful place in her mother's arms, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He cleaned up the foyer, picking up bits and pieces of scrap paper, glass, etc. Ginny Weasley could be such a slob.

Something under the couch caught his eye as he bent down to pick up a shard of glass. He reached under and pulled out a black and white notebook that read 'PROPERTY OF GINEVRA WEASLEY. DO NOT TOUCH.' _Hmm_. He juggled the book in his hands, turning it up and down, deciding whether or not to 'touch' and read the pages. What could lie in a notebook such as this? Draco glanced around to make sure she was nowhere, then opened the book.

At first, they were basic diary entries from her second year - '_Today I hung out a bit with Dean, he's such a git sometimes, I think I may like him_' - but then they became serious poems and stories. With a flip of the page, there were humorous anecdotes about random subjects (there was an especially funny one written on October 1st about a ketchup packet who was allergic to french fries). One story written on August 1st, however, grabbed his attention. It was titled '_Fire Melts Ice_.' Curious, he read on:

_There once was a beautiful princess named Gemma who lived in a deep red palace that resided in a Firey village. Everyone who lived there was warm-hearted to each other and greeted strangers as if they had known them their whole lives. She loved her village, loved her family, and loved her friends. She enjoyed her school, had wonderful classes, and overall was more than pleased with her life. One day, her world was shattered when a man came into her life from an opposing village - one that ruled over Ice._

_Ice was a place of cold people who were rude to each other and gave snide remarks to strangers. The Fires and the Ices hated each other with a deep passion, one that was not easily broken. Gemma was shocked to find that because of a curse her great great ancestors created, she would be forced to marry the man from Ice. The man, Daniel, was not pleased with the situation, either. But since we're following Gemma's feelings, who cares about Daniel's?_

_Gemma was distraught. She didn't want to leave her loved ones, but she was forced to. They moved to equal ground - Earth, in between Fire and Ice - and lived in tight quarters. _

_  
One day, when she was listening to music in a beautiful red dress, Daniel walked in on her. A power beyond their control filled the room, and they danced together, closely, slowly. She had nothing to say, and for days, didn't say anything. She was in a dream, another world, caught between reality and another version of her life where she could fall in love without fear of getting hurt._

_Gemma and Daniel found themselves in love. They didn't want it to happen, they didn't ask for it to happen. It just did. Fire had melted Ice._

Draco's heart stopped just as the story did. Gemma and Daniel. Ginny and Draco. Draco asked Ginny to dance. '_Caught between reality and another version of her life where she could fall in love without fear of getting hurt._' He briefly wondered whether this was fiction or non-fiction. He skipped ahead a few pages, but that was the last story. He sighed and closed the book, then bent down and slipped the notebook under the couch.

He finally had another secret.

-----------------

Ginny was bored, itching for excitement. The thrill she got by looking at Draco was usually enough to do it, but ever since their kiss, she couldn't look at him. It wasn't that the kiss was bad, or that she didn't want to remember it. No, she _really_ loved the kiss, and the rush she got afterwards. She couldn't look at him because everytime she did, it took more self restraint than she had in her body to run up to him and kiss him again, and again, and again.

She was organizing her closet, looking at all the pretty shirts she owned, when she found the beautiful green and black dress from what seemed like ages ago. Deciding that there was absolutely _nothing_ else to do, she grabbed her dress and tried it on, then checked in the mirror. The top of it was tighter than she remembered - it reminded her of a corset. The black lace barely covered her cleavage, but in a tasteful way- not a Slagish way. The bottom of the dress was long, flowing, slightly poofy, and she couldn't help but smile. Around her waist was a medieval-looking v in black silk. She looked like a princess from some sort of fairy tale. She spun around once, twice, three times until she decided she had to quit being narcissistic and gently took the dress off.

Taking a deep breath, she looked out the window, overlooking the small French town. She was surprised to see a large dome-like building across from the manor with a large sign that said (and this is a rough English translation, for her mother never did bother teaching her French too well) 'NEW YEAR'S EVE MASQUERADE BALL AT L'OPERA, ALL WELCOME, FREE ADMITTANCE, STARTS AT 5 UNTIL MORNING.' She grinned; New Year's Eve was tomorrow, that gave her something to do. She had the dress - she just needed the mask.

-----------------

"I'm going out... do you want anything?" Ginny asked Draco, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"You're going out? For what?"

Ginny shrugged. "A mask...?"

"A mask," Draco replied, a small smile playing upon his lips. "Why?"

Ginny stupidly looked up into his eyes and couldn't find a comprehensible thought in her body. "Um, well, there's a masquerade ball at L'Opera. I figured I'd get a mask to match my outfit."

"Ah," answered Draco. "No, I'm fine. Good luck getting a mask."

"Yes..." Ginny said slowly. "I'll be back -"

"Later," Draco supplied, and Ginny nodded in a daze. She practically floated out of the room.

-----------------

Ginny was getting ready for the ball, and was currently applying black eyeliner to her eyes. Because the mask was a universal mask that only covered her eyes, there was a small circle of skin that was visible through the eyeholes of the mask. She added some green eyeshadow for good measure, some mascara, and then put the mask on. She stepped back from the table and studied herself. She wasn't completely disappointed - she looked pretty enough. Her hair was pulled back, curled into a messy bun that hung by the back of her neck. She shrugged, slipped on her black shoes, grabbed her black jacket, shawl, and bag.

"Draco? I'm going..."

Draco was sitting in the foyer, reading a newspaper. He carelessly looked up to say goodbye, but as he opened his mouth, the words wouldn't come out. He saw her in her outfit, acting as if nothing were wrong... but here she was, being beautiful, and he couldn't take it.

"...Draco?"

Draco shook his head. "Sorry."

Ginny smiled and blushed, then fixed her bag. "I'm going to go now, I said."

"Oh." Draco stopped looking at her and focused on his newspaper. "Have fun..."

She began walking to the door. "Um... yeah. Bye..."

As she left, Draco sat in complete and utter shocked silence. The voice inside his head was having an inner battle between what he felt (or didn't feel.) Was he actually having romantic feelings for the youngest Weasley? No... he couldn't be. He just couldn't...

_Open your eyes,_ he heard a voice say in the back of his mind.

-----------------

She walked into the main room, smiling graciously at the doorman. She handed her jacket to the coatman and then entered the ball. It was a beautiful opera house, with beautiful decorations in every color imaginable. A couple in matching bright yellow masks danced by her, causing her to self consciously finger her black, feathered mask. It wasn't quite as decorative as anyone elses, but she liked it.

She found a table in the back and sat at it, looking about as if she were looking for someone. Suddenly she felt very stupid, arriving to a masquerade ball unaccompanied. Not one person here was dancing normally - it was all ballroom dancing, waltzing, etc, and it seemed as though everyone had a date. Except her, that is.

"Would you like to dance?" She spun around; a man with black hair was smiling at her.

Why not? "Sure," she answered, giving her his hand.

He was a great dancer, he was charming, and he was funny. She would have danced again with him, but her bloody scar began sending shivers and burns throughout her body, causing her to grab her leg and take a deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm... not feeling good. I'm going to sit down, okay?"

He put his arm under hers and helped her to her chair, and faltered. "Should I...?"

"Don't worry," she said with a sigh. "Have fun."

"Are you..."

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, I don't even know you," she said, laughing. The mystery man smiled and kissed her hand; she privately winced in pain but put on a brave front. As he began dancing with some sleezy blonde, she sighed. _Bloody curse and it's bloody side-effects. Makes any man who likes me and who's not Malfoy instantly frightened away by my scar's pain!_

"Excuse me, mademoiseille. Would you care to dance?"

Ginny turned around, instantly feeling a searing pain in her leg. Usually, she could stand talking to men, even dancing a bit. But just looking at this guy made her hurt - badly. A man in a green suit with black accents and a green mask was standing in front of her. He had long silver hair that reminded her immediately of Lucius Malfoy - but he was _dead_, wasn't he?

"Uh... sorry, I'm not really feeling up to it."

As if the man hadn't heard her, he grabbed her hand and began waltzing with her. Ginny could hardly stand, the pain in her leg was so bad.

"Exc_use_ me, but I _think_ I remember saying I wasn't feeling well." The man didn't let her go. "Unhand me! Put me down!"

"_Shut up, Weasley_," the man hissed in her ear.

Ginny's eyes grew large. "Who are you?"

"_There is no time for questions. Leave the Manor if you know what's good for you_."

Time stood still as Ginny tried to figure out what to say. She heard a man yelling that the music would pick up a bit, and that if you couldn't keep up, to sit down. She tried to make her way to the table, but the man seemed to have no thoughts of freeing her. Taking a deep breath, she asked...

"Or what?"

"_Or death, either way. You will die if you leave, die if you stay. If you leave, you can save your children. Don't tell anyone about this._"

She looked around; no one seemed to suspect that this handsome man was whispering death threats in his date's ear. She turned to look back at the man, but he was gone, lost in a sea of colored masks. She began walking through the spinning, twirling, fast-dancing couples when she bumped into someone. Ginny looked up. She had bumped into a man in a black suit and a green mask. He had his hand out, bowing, asking her apologies. He would have looked silly, bowing and acting so formal at a party such as this, if it weren't so terribly romantic.

"You do realize you're standing in the middle of a fast-paced dance, don't you?"

Ginny nodded, breathless.

"Do you want to dance?" the man asked.

She opened her mouth to say 'no,' but no sounds came out. All she could see were his eyes. She opened her mouth again, but nothing happened. _Oh, bugger!_ She took a deep breath and before she could control it, she was dancing with him.

"You look scared," the man said, smiling down at her. "Was that man bothering you?"

_Don't tell anyone about this. _She shook her head. "Oh, no... no."

He leaned down at whispered in her ear. "It's Draco."

She let out a deep breath. "Thank God."

"If he bothers you again... I'll kill him."

She smiled again. "Just dance with me."

And he did.

His hands were on her waist, her hand was on his shoulder, and they were dancing as if they had practiced. She couldn't break away from his eyes, the way they seemed to be telling her all the things she wanted to hear. Ginny felt herself pushing closer towards him on her own accord, their outfits meeting, their masks barely touching.

How long they were out there, dancing, she didn't know. She couldn't put time together. She couldn't put _thoughts_ together. Suddenly, half way through their dance, people were yelling out numbers, everything stopped, everything was silent other than the consistent 'FIFTEEN, FOURTEEN, THIRTEEN...'

Their jaws were so close. She could feel his hot breath on her mouth, begging to be kissed.

"Gemma..." Draco murmured.

She should be shocked. She should feel surprised that Draco read her story... She should be angry. That was a secret story, not to mention one that she wrote about _him_. But she just couldn't find any negative emotions for Draco at the moment.

_TWELVE, ELEVEN, TEN_

"Daniel..." she whispered, looking at his from under half-closed eyelids.

_NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN_

They got closer, closer, closer, before their lips were touching. Ginny felt as she were flying, someplace else. Was she having an out-of-body experience, or was this just kissing Draco? Although many questions buzzed through her mind - how did he know about Daniel and Gemma, how dare he read my book, why aren't I angrier - she couldn't focus on one. She couldn't think about anything other than the way his lips on hers made her feel.

Somehow they had found themselves outside on the balcony of L'Opera. She was leaning against the cold, solid wall, and their breathing was shallow, quick, and yet so delayed. She had been kissed before, she had kissed _him_ before. But this... this was mind-blowing. It felt as if she were having an asthma attack, and she broke away, breathing heavily.

"What - are we - doing?" Gemma - er, Ginny - asked, taking a deep breath as Draco slowly backed away a bit.

"I think - I think we're snogging."

Ginny took a deep breath. "How?"

"_How_?" he repeated. "I don't know, my lips kind of go like this..."

_Stop. Stop it, or I might just lose control._

Her power was lost as quickly as it was gained as she found him leading her to a stone bench, sitting her on it and moving is cold hands over her cheeks. His hands seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once. One minute they were tracing the sides of her dress, the next they were playing with her hair, the next they were touching the inside of her elbow.

_SIX, FIVE, FOUR_

She sighed against his mouth as they slowly broke away once again, trailing small butterfly kisses on each other.

"I read Fire Melts Ice," Draco said softly against her shoulder.

"I know, Daniel," she whispered. She was in the act of kissing his hand. They stopped and looked in each other's eyes. Somewhere along the way both of their masks had come off, and Ginny was sure she looked like a raccoon, but she was too lost in his eyes to care. She could practically count the flecks of blue. "Draco... we need to stop..."

"Right," Draco replied, with much difficulty.

_THREE, TWO, _

Ginny looked down and brought her knee up, then began playing with her strappy shoe. She leaned in close to him, but instead of kissing him, she began whispering. "That man knew who I was."

"With your mask on?" he asked.

_ONE_

She nodded. "He knew my last name was Weasley. He told me to leave the manor, and that I would die, no matter if I left or not. But he said if I left, my children would be saved." She let tears fall from her eyes, sighing. "What am I supposed to do?"

Draco looked down. "We're going to talk to my mother. And if she can't help, we're going to Dumbledore."

_Happy new year!_

-----------------

The pair left the Masquerade after getting their party bags and were on their way home when Draco remembered he left his coat inside. Ginny was standing outside with a bunch of women, waiting for Draco, when she overheard some of the women's gossip.

"Have you seen the new couple who live in the old Andasar mansion?" a woman with a Scottish accent was asking. Ginny looked at them, wondering how they could gossip about her right in front of her, but then realized - she had a mask on. This could work to her advantage.

"Ah, yes, the... what's it called's... Malfots?" another woman added. A southern accent on this one - a distinct southern drawl.

Another younger woman interjected. "No, no, no. You are mistaken! They are the _Malfoys_. My family used to be friends with his. The boy's father was sent to jail, I heard." She had a Irish accent and seemed to have a sneering face. She glanced over at Ginny for a moment, then back towards her friends. "Heard he murdered a few people."

"Ah, good breeding, then. I'm sure they're simply lovely," the Scottish woman said with a laugh.

Sera shook her head. "The wife is rather pretty, isn't she? Beautiful flaming red hair and hazel eyes. Freckles all over. Lovely."

Ginny felt herself flush.

"How old is she? They both look quite young, don't they, Margie? They can't even be 20 yet," pondered the southern woman.

_You're right,_ Ginny thought, _I'm not even of age._

"I hear the house is haunted by the spirits of Salazar and Godric. Remember that bedtime story, Sera, the one our mums used to read? What was it called, _Candles Frozen_ or something?"

Sera laughed. "Oh, dear Margie, if you think I can remember that you are clearly off your rocker. It's everywhere now, though; that story has become quite publicized as 'Little France's Nightmare.' I don't believe it, though."

"You don't? I certainly do!" Margie, the Scottish woman, scoffed. "Frightful story. I daresay, my niece - you know her, Sera. Amelia? - Anyway, my niece wanted a novel for Christmas, and I bought her that. Her mum returned it to me, saying it had given her nightmares! Poor dear. What say you, Corrine?"

Corrine, the southern, spoke up. "I feel sorry for the girl. She has to live in a haunted house with a haunted man. She seems warm and he seems..."

"Cold?"

"Rude?"

"Right behind you?"

The women gasped and turned around to see Draco standing right behind them. Ginny smiled to herself.

"Monsieur Malfot," Sera greeted with a bow, causing her friends to stifle their laughs.

"Madam McCreeler."

Sera smiled, but Ginny knew it was not genuine. "Excuse me, sir, but it is now _Porter_."

"Ah, my apologies. If you are through gossiping about us, I would like to take my _wife_ back home," he sneered, putting much emphasis on the word 'wife.' Ginny felt herself blush extremely hard.

"Oh, Draco. Where is your lovely wife?" Corrine asked, glancing around.

"Right next to you."

_Oh, God._

The women looked around, collectively sneering. "Ah. Couldn't see her, under her mask," Margie said.

"You know, I do think we haven't been properly introduced," said Sera with a smile. Ginny didn't trust her a bit. "Would you like to come to tea with the girls over at my place one time?"

Ginny looked over to Draco, who nodded. She sighed. "Ah, yes," she replied. "Sounds... great."

"How's tomorrow at noon, then? Great! See you there. I'm sure Young Master Malfot knows _exactly_ where it is, so just ask him for directions. Come now, ladies, don't want to keep the Malfots." With that, they swept up their dresses and things and began walking, Sera distinctly swinging her hips.

-----------------

As Ginny sat outside, bundled up in sweaters and coats, she thought about what the women had said.

_"I hear the house is haunted by the spirits of Salazar and Godric. Remember that bedtime story, Sera, the one our mums used to read? What was it called, _Candles Frozen _or something?"_

Ginny sighed. Practically all of France knew more about the curse than she did. Suddenly quite awake, Ginny got an idea. If she read this book, perhaps she could get an idea on what could be done.

And how it _ended._

-----------------

_**Author's note: Author's note: Ahhh. I realize this is kind of short, but I had a LOT more but once I saved it, I was really unhappy with it. I thought things were happening too fast, because with the way I set everything up, the story would have had to end in the next two chapters. Now at least there's a bit more! But since we are, unfortunatly, leading to the end of the fic, I would really appreciate it if, in your review, you would fill this brief survey out. Don't forget to put your regular review anyway, but adding this in would be really helpful:**_

**What you like about the story:**

**How do you think I portrayed Draco? Ginny? Explain:**

**What do you dislike about this story:**

**What could I do to improve this story, or improve my writing:**

_**Thanks, ya'll. Have a nice new year. **_

_**PS: Thanks to the reviews! Please review some more, I would like to get more reviews than I did for my previous story, Broken. (giggle)**_

**_  
PPPS: BUY THE BOOK _REBEL ANGELS_! IT IS UTTERLY AMAZINGLY AWESOME. But read _A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY_ first! (Both by Libba Bray. I adore her!)_**


	10. Part II, Chapter Nine: Sever Ties

Part II, Chapter Nine: Sever Ties

_He woke up, the room was bare  
He didn't see her anywhere  
He told himself he didn't care  
Pushed the window open wide,  
Felt an emptiness inside  
To which he just could not relate  
Brought on by a simple twist of fate._

- Bob Dylan (Simple Twist of Fate)

_Quick Author's Note: I've become obsessed with fanfic trailers. If anyone has any good ones, send the url to me!_

Ginny fixed her dress and sighed, stepping back and looking at herself in the mirror. The dress was beautiful, she couldn't deny it - it was one of Fayebris' beautiful dresses, made probably for an occasion such as this. It was blue with floral lace and a ruffle trim neckline, cap-sleeves, and four buttons on the front. It tied loosely in the back. Her hair was alright - it was wavy and hung around her face, tied up slightly in the back. Her makeup was light with just some blush, eyeshadow, and mascara. She didn't look ugly... so why did she feel like anything she wore would like trash compared to _Sera_?

She reached out to grab her bag, but an envelope caught her eye. '_Miss Ginevra Weasley,_' it read - but who it was from was a mystery. Supposing it was from Draco, she simply placed the letter in her bag, took her cloak, and walked downstairs to meet Draco at the door.

To Draco, seeing Ginny walk down the steps was like a scene from a movie. She walked down slowly, each agonizing step taking forever. She kept her head down, as if studying her dress, and she refused to meet his eyes. He could tell by the way she presented herself that she thought she was extremely ugly. If he had a death wish, he would tell her how beautiful she truly was.

"Er... I'm ready to go now."

Draco shook himself out of it. "Okay, sure... I'll take you to the carriage."

They walked in silence until finally reaching the green-and-silver carriage. Ginny smirked at the color choice as Draco began talking to the driver in somewhat-hushed voices. After a few moments, he walked back over to Ginny and grabbed her hand, helping her into the carriage. When she was in, he sat down inside of it and the driver began riding away.

Draco turned to Ginny. "You'll probably be back in an hour, so don't worry. Her house is big - try not to stare at it or you'll get the history of when/how/where/why it was built. Compliment the house, but don't get too descriptive with what, exactly, you're complimenting, or you'll get the history of that, too. She _will_ poke fun at you, so be forewarned. And by the way - she can _smell_ fear."

Ginny laughed slightly, but couldn't help the odd feeling she got in her gut. "You certainly know a lot about her, don't you?"

"Well... we did grow up together, you know. And - you know - that." He was stuttering. Damnation!

"_That_?"

"- That means I would know a lot about her."

Ginny rose an eyebrow. "So you guys were only friends?"

"N-" He shut his mouth, and after a second, shrugged. "Yes. Just friends and nothing more."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something else, but her view out the window made her forget all words. They were getting closer, closer, closer to what seemed like a palace. On the ground there was a small stone sign that read '_The Porters_.'

"That's..." Ginny trailed off.

"Welcome to the Porters' mansion."

MANSION? That wasn't a mansion, that was a bloody COUNTRY! The carriage slowed to a stop and the driver got out, opening the door cordially. Ginny stepped out, staring open-mouthed at the large 'mansion' in front of her. Draco got out behind her, an amused expression on his face as he stepped in front of her.

"It isn't nice to stare," he said with a light chuckle as he closed her mouth with one finger. He looked at her closely in the eye and was about to say something before an extremely rude Scottish voice rang out from the doorway, a few feet ahead.

"If you two are bloody well done, I'd like for Ginny to come in and have some tea."

The pair turned around and looked at Sera, who was tapping her foot, arms crossed.

Ginny looked over at Draco, but he was already half-way to the carriage, keeping his eyes in front of him and not daring to look back.

"Where do you think _you're _going, _Young Master Malfot_? Aren't you going to kiss your _darling_ goodbye?" Sera spat, earning giggles from behind her. She turned around and told the voices to shut up, but couldn't deny the look of amusement on her face as she turned back around to eye Ginny's awkward expression.

Draco visibly froze, and Ginny saw his spine straighten. He walked over to Ginny and stood in front of her, looking at the ground. He was about to lean in for a quick kiss...

"Not her, you dimwit."

Ginny's face grew red. _How is _Sera_ his _'darlingShe thought to herself, wondering why she felt so jealous. _I mean, she's married. _We're_ married. A little kiss won't hurt anyone, and she's just doing it to put me in my place and make me angry._

He sighed, walked up the stairs, and stood in front of Ginny's view. She could only see his back as he whispered something in her ear and she could hear the loud, shrill, flirtatious giggle from Sera.Ginny took a deep breath and watched Draco lean in and kiss her, then saw Sera's arms go around his neck.

_She just wants to make me angry._

They broke apart and Draco started walking back into the carriage, face red. He didn't look at Ginny, only stepped into the carriage and told the driver to ride on. Sera smiled viciously.

_It's not going to work,_ she thought, glaring at Sera. _You won't win._

Sera glanced at the women behind her back and stepped inside, all the girls following her - except one; Corrine. She smiled lightly at Ginny before being called into the room. Ginny sighed; it was going to be a _long_ evening.

---------

"So, Jenny, how are you?" Sera asked over tea. They had finally gotten to the act of drinking, after a lot of house history, given mostly by Margie. Sera had called Ginny 'Jenny' a total of 57 times, Margie had called her 'Genie' 67 times, and Corrine had simply not talked to her at all.

"Uh - " _Don't stutter, moron!_ "- Er. Fine." _...Nice save._

Sera smirked at her friends.

"And how is Young Master Malfot? You know, I've known him for many years. We have quite a... _colorful_... past."

Margie snorted into her teacup; Ginny rose an eyebrow.

"Yes, I heard you two were very good friends."

The snort became more distinct now. Sera threw a look towards Margie and shook her head, then glanced back Ginny.

"Oh, _dear_," she started, patronizingly placing her hand over Ginny's, "Has he not _told_ you?"

Ginny looked around. Corrine had a sad look on her face, Margie looked as though she was torn between laughing and feeling sorry, and Sera was frowning. But it was fake - all of it. None of these women felt any remorse for acting rude to her - none at all.

Ginny didn't know what to say. If she asked what, she might hear a big fat lie - or a truth that would make her skin crawl. If she just smiled, she would seem rude.

"Told me what?" she asked with a sigh.

Sera glanced at Margie, then at Ginny. She stood up, retrieved a book from a far bookcase, then returned with it in hand. Ginny glanced at it; it seemed to be a photo album of some sort. Sera flipped madly, then smiled to herself and handed the book to Ginny.

It was a page decorated in black and red frill. A young Draco Malfoy and a blonde woman were standing arm-in-arm. There was a flash, and Sera and Draco leaned in to kiss, the woman smiling widely.

_'Just friends and nothing more.'_

"That's Draco and I a few days before the wedding was supposed to be."

_Not true. None of it. No._

"We were so young, only about fifteen at the time. How silly it was. We were betrothed, even though his mother didn't want us to be. After Lucius was put in Azkaban, our parents decided to call of the marriage. We were simply torn up," she was continuing, sighing.

_You were simply torn up. Not him. He didn't love you._

"We were still dating through last year, but I moved away and decided it would be best to sever ties. Draco was quite distraught. But I suppose he's gotten over me rather nicely, hasn't he, girls?"

Margie shook her head and looked Ginny in the eye. "He will _never_ be over Sera. Draco may pretend... but the love they had was too strong for him to ignore. I suppose one day, after you're long gone, they will get back together."

Sera gasped and lightly slapped Margie on the hand. "That isn't a polite thing to say."

Margie shrugged. "It's true. He'll never love her as much as you, Sera. It's not like she's overly pretty or anything. She's average. She's alright looking, she doesn't seem _stupid_, and I'm sure she's pretty okay with spells. Not like you, Sera. You're gorgeous, you're brilliant, and you're a wonderful witch."

Ginny looked down and blushed. _It's not going to work. _

Sera smiled. "Well, I am sure Jenny and Master Malfot will be together a very long time. Besides, I'm already married."

And the cooing over her ring, her wedding, her husband started. Ginny politely smiled, though her mind was reeling with questions. She absent mindedly took the scone that Corrine was offering her and bit into it, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Genie? ..._Genie_?"

Ginny snapped her head up. "Huh? - Sorry, I mean..." She sighed. "Excuse me?"

Margie shook her head. "I was saying, what are you doing for his birthday?"

Ginny rose an eyebrow. "For _who's_ birthday?"

"_Draco's_ of course! Honestly!"

_His birthday? He didn't tell me about his birthday..._ She shook her head._ He didn't tell me about Sera either._

"Why are you shaking your head? Are you not doing anything? Well, if you're not, why don't we have a party here?" Sera squealed.

Ginny opened her mouth. "We - His - We're -"

Margie rolled her eyes. "Spit it out, _dearie_."

Ginny bit down on her lip, clenched her fists, and willed her temper to cease. As her family always told her, she was a force to be reckoned with when pissed off. She distinctly remembered the bat bogey hex put on Draco... ...And, of course, the memory of Draco just got her even angrier.

_Calm down. Please. Don't embarrass yourself._

"No. We're doing something with my family and... stuff," she managed to get out.

Sera frowned. "I do hope we're invited."

_NO!_

Ginny smirked. "If Draco wants you there." She got up and grabbed her coat. "It has been lovely, really lovely, but I really should be going. Thanks for the tea."

She stormed out, walking in the cold. She didn't know where she was going, nor did she really care. She just needed to walk. When she got home, she'd tell Draco to write a letter to his mother about the curse. She wouldn't mention anything about Sera or the things she said. She wouldn't mention his birthday. She would forget this afternoon had ever happened.

---------

Ginny returned to Malfoy Manor a half-hour later, cold and tired. She put her jacket on the coat rack and stepped fully inside, looking around. Usually Draco was in the sitting room, reading something or other... but he wasn't there. Normally she would have shrugged and gone up to her room, but today she needed that letter written. She wanted to move forward rather than think about the afternoon.

She began walking up the stairs to Draco's room. She apparently couldn't block thoughts and walk up the stairs at the same time, so as she walked, everything that Margie had said began rushing through her mind. She was right... Ginny wasn't as pretty, or as smart, or as good with magic. Draco had loved Sera once, and it seemed obvious that it could happen again. Draco had never loved Ginny, and probably never would.

She sniffled, feeling utterly sorry for herself, as she reached Draco's room and knocked on his door. She stopped and listened... she could hear noises inside, so _obviously_ he was home... so why wasn't he answering? She knocked again... and again. Finally fed up with waiting, she threw the door open and gasped.

Sera.

In Draco's room.

Not just 'in Draco's room,' but in his bed. And Draco didn't seem to mind. Actually, he didn't seem to mind at all, considering he was there with her.

_He doesn't love you. He's never loved you._

"Draco..." Ginny whispered, shaking her head. "How could you...?"

Draco began to stand up, to explain, but Sera laughed. "How could he_ not_?"

_"He will _never_ be over Sera. Draco may pretend... but the love they had was too strong for him to ignore. I suppose one day, after you're long gone, they will get back together."_

Without hearing another thing, Ginny was out of there. She ran to her room and began to grab her things quickly, making sure she had the necessities. She picked up her bag, threw it over her shoulder, and turned to exit. She saw Draco was in the doorway, blocking it.

"Ginny..."

_"It's true. He'll never love her as much as you, Sera. It's not like she's overly pretty or anything. She's average. She's alright looking, she doesn't seem stupid, and I'm sure she's pretty okay with spells."_

Ginny shook her head. "Get out of my room."

He lightly touched her hand, but she backed away from it as if it was fire.

_"Not like you, Sera. You're gorgeous, you're brilliant, and you're a wonderful witch."_

"Don't touch me or I'll scream bloody murder. If you don't move I'll hex your bloody head off."

Draco opened his mouth to say something, yet he didn't really know what. He looked down sadly and moved away from the doorway. Ginny began walking out, and as Draco watched after her, he sighed.

---------

The sound of someone apparating shook Molly Weasley out of her daydream and looked up. "Who's there?"

Ginny appeared in the kitchen doorway. "M-Mum?"

The look on Ginny's face let Molly know everything she needed to. She didn't ask questions, she didn't try to figure out what happened. Her daughter was crying, and she needed to come home to mommy.

"Darling," she whispered, putting her arms around her only daughter. She took her bags, set them down on the floor, and hugged her daughter again, charming the kitchen utensils to whip Ginny up a nice glass of hot chocolate.

Ginny had spent the whole day in her room, reading; Molly informed her that Arthur plus the boys were out until tomorrow, having a day of boyish fun, so it was rather quiet. Later that night, she shyly asked her mother to stay in the room with her as she fell asleep... and her mother quickly agreed.

That night, Ginny dreamt of nothing and everything. Of babies and parents... Of kisses and scones. And as Ginny slept, tears fell from her half-closed eyes... tears that didn't go unnoticed by her mother.

--------

Draco shot up in bed, gasping. His sheets were sweaty, as was his shirt (which was soaked to the point that it looked like his own skin). He took a deep breath and put his hands on his head as memories from that day came rushing in his head.

_Sera was standing in his doorway. How she had gotten in, he didn't know, but somehow she had. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him down on the bed, whispering, 'I know you love me better' in his ear. After she had gotten her clothes off, she began on his. Draco said nothing, didn't know what to say, didn't know where to start. He just laid there, confused. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was seeing Ginny's face, so disapointed and confused if she ever found out._

_As if knowing what he was thinking, she whispered, 'she doesn't have to know.'_

_Seconds later the door was open, Ginny's big, round eyes looking hurt as she turned and ran._

'_How could you_?' she had asked. And Draco, to this moment, didn't know how.

He shouldn't care. She wasn't like him, would never be up to his level. She would always be from a poor family, and he would always be covered in wealth. She would always be proud and noble... he would always be sly and sneaky. She was fire... he was ice. He was not Daniel. He could _never_ be Daniel.

He got up and opened the window, letting the cold winter air flood in the room. He looked down, watching the street. It was late, but a lone couple was standing in the street, laughing and joking. The girl had on a colorful striped hat, and poking out from underneath it was floppy red hair. The man had light, almost silver hair that reflected in the moonlight. The girl ran a bit ahead, her matching striped scarf flying out behind her. The man grabbed the scarf and pulled it forward, pulling the girl with her. She hit into his chest and looked up at him just before meeting his lips with hers.

Draco, disgusted, closed the window and wandered the hallways. It wasn't like he saw Ginny during the night... but it was just so obvious she wasn't in the house. Tonight... the house felt empty.

Without knowing what he was doing, he was grabbing a quill and a piece of parchment.

--------

An owl was hitting Sera's window, and she grudgingly got up and opened the window. The owl flew in and she saw it had a letter. Yawning, she opened it and read.

_Sera,_

_I'm sorry to write this letter to you, but I have to. You need to let me go. What we had was amazing... while it lasted. But now, you have a husband. I have a soon to be wife. And although I'm sure you don't love your husband (you aren't one to marry for that. Money, maybe, but not love), I love Ginny. So much that this afternoon, after she left, I haven't been the same. I feel things I've never felt before. I feel empty, as if life without her won't be the same._

_I have to make things better. I have to. I'm going to try and get her back. I'm asking - begging, actually, though you know a Malfoy never begs - you to leave us alone. Please don't hurt her. Please don't visit me. Pretend we've never met. I want you to forget our past, Sera. I did love you - I really did, but that's just it. I _did._ But I _don't_ now. I'm sorry._

_Sincerely,_

_Draco Malfoy_

_  
a.k.a. Young Master Malfot._

How dare he act like that? How _dare_ he speak to her that way? He didn't love her! He wasn't _capable_ of love!

Sera's husband lifted his head up from the bed. "What's that, Ser?"

Sera looked at the ground, tears filling her eyes. "Nothing. A letter from an old friend."

"What's it say?"

"He's fallen in love with a girl I dislike," she said quietly. "He thinks its best if we don't talk for a while."

Her husband frowned. "Are you okay?"

Sera's eyes met his. "I'm fine, baby." She nearly gasped at her use of a word such as that. "Let's go back to bed."

--------

_**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long for this chapter. I've written it 3 times, and each time it deleted everything I wrote. How sad! And then, to add on to the fact that it kept deleting, I've been reviewing for midterms (in like 2 weeks) and I've been having a lot of exams and everything. Ahh, the joys of going to a private high school. So... this chapter is completely different from what I thought it was going to be, lol. Please send feedback, as always.**_

_**To superspunky - THAT WAS THE BEST REVIEW I'VE EVER GOTTEN. Thank you so much for writing something so meaningful. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**_


	11. Part II, Chapter Ten: Flowers bloom dead

**This chapter is dedicated to Missy. Love ya girl!**

Part II, Chapter Ten: Flowers bloom dead

_Oh, as if it wasn't hard enough  
I'm so tired of waking up  
Feeling bad  
You haven't been the kind of place I have  
Could it hurt you now  
To let this pass?_

_Oh, as if it wasn't hard enough  
You want to make it so much harder  
Now in another world  
I could learn to forget  
But 'til then I'm here  
Making room for new regrets_

_Now some flowers they never bloom  
And some flowers just bloom dead  
The way you make me feel  
I could collapse  
An epidemic I cannot outlast  
How could you feel used  
When I feel trapped?_

- Wallflowers (Some Flowers Bloom Dead)

_It's been a long cold winter  
Even we could not hide  
These feelings of love we lived for  
Are now somehow dead inside  
_

- not sure who it's by (Evergreen)

Ginny woke up, blinking away the odd bursts of sunlight coming through the window. She didn't remember where she was until she saw her _Future of Hogwarts_ sweatshirt framed on the wall. It was then she remembered - she was home. She looked around; her mother was running around the room, cleaning things up. She reached over to stretch and her hands hit a tray of food that was laying on her bed: it had eggs, orange juice, pancakes, and bacon on it, along with a small flower. Ginny smiled to herself as she moved the tray aside and stood up.

Molly turned around and grinned at her daughter. "Hullo, dear! How did you sleep? Good?"

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose."

"Good, good. Well, go get freshened up, your breakfast is right there."

Ginny nodded and walked to the bathroom, leaving her mother to contemplate what exactly was going on in her only daughter's life.

-----------------

Ginny began walking downstairs and heard voices fill her ears. Just the sounds made her want to dance, and made her forget -- for a fraction of a moment -- about Draco. She stopped halfway down to listen to the conversation.

"It was too bloody cold for _camping_, dad, I told you! Camping is done in the summer, not the winter!" Ron was whining.

Fred lifted a stiff finger to shake at Ron. "I d-don't see w-what the p-p-r-r-roblem is, R-R-R-Ron. It's n-n-not th-th-th-that c-c-c-c -"

"I don't see what the problem is, Ron. It's not that cold," George repeated.

"I w-w-was say-y-ying th-that!" argued Fred.

George rolled his eyes. "You were taking too long."

Charlie shook his head. "I thought it was nice. Cold... but nice."

"I saw that park ranger checking you out, dear brother, and I saw you do more than check _her_ out!" George said, elbowing Ron and winking lewdly.

"_Boys_," came the ever-knowledgeable warn from Molly. Even though she wasn't listening to the conversation, she _knew_ when her boys were behaving badly.

Ron blushed. "Someone better change the bloody subject."

"_Language, _Ronald!"

"Fine," Bill said, "I don't think Tom and Jerry will ever recover."

"Tom and Jerry?" asked Ron.

Bill grinned and whispered something in Ron's ear, causing him to laugh out loud.

"_Boys_," Arthur warned as Molly began whipping up some hot chocolates and coffees. Deciding this was a safe time, Ginny began to walk downstairs.

"Well, my 'Tom and Jerry's are suffering, also, and -" Ron trailed off. "Oi! Ginny! What are you doing here?"

Ginny opened her mouth to think of an excuse. However, her mother supplied one for her, explaining that she was "feeling homesick."

"Aw, well, too bad you missed the trip!" George exclaimed. Fred opened his mouth to speak up, but George continued. "And Fred wants to know how the ferret is."

"Still furry?" asked Ron. Charlie laughed and began drinking his coffee.

Ginny looked down at the ground. "Uh - well - he's - erm..."

"That good, eh?"

She shrugged, trying to look uninterested. "He's not important. I heard you went camping? How was that?"

And they all began talking at once, laughing and recalling funny times that happened during the trip -- Ron tripped over a snowball, Fred and George got attacked by a rabid squirrel, Arthur found a tennis ball in the snow and found out what's inside of it. It wasn't very interesting, but Ginny hung on every word in rapture. _This _is what she needed. She needed to be _home_.

-----------------

"What are we doing out here again, mum?" Fred asked, finally being able to speak complete sentences without stuttering.

"I think this is a bad idea..." Ron moaned as he rubbed his ears vigorously.

"Yeah, Fred _just_ learned how to speak again and we're outside? In zero degree weather?" George added.

Molly rolled her eyes. She knew that telling the boys to put their coats back on and go outside was a bad idea, but it was the only thing she could think of that would cheer Ginny up without Ginny knowing she was trying to be cheered up. You see, Molly was supposed to be dumb; she was supposed to believe Ginny every time she said 'I'm fine.' So she played along, acted goofy and mom-like... but you could only see your daughter broken for so long. It's a maternal instinct to want to grab some tape and _fix_ her.

"I think this is a bad idea..." Ron whined again.

"Shut up, Ron. You too, George. It's not zero degrees," Ginny snapped, liking the feeling of being outdoors.

George feigned hurt. "Well you came home in a nice mood. Are you this sweet to ferretboy, or were you just saving it for us?"

"_George_. Leave Ginny alone."

He opened his mouth in protest, but got glares from every direction (mum, Charlie, Fred...) and decided to keep his words to himself.

"I think this is a -"

Molly glared at Ron, and he stopped.

The troop followed Molly around to the back of the house, each step leaving large footprints in the snow. Finally Molly stopped, pointed at a small patch of ground by the back of the house, and smiled. The boys stood around it, not really understanding the meaning, but Ginny smiled and felt her heart leap.

The snow was melting. Where there was once frost and cold, a small flower had begun to sprout up. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she hoped Draco was melting. She hoped leaving made him realize what a bloody git he was... because the flowers were blooming.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Ron sighed as they walked back home.

Ginny felt like she could dance. "No it wasn't! _Winter is ending_, Ron! It's melting!"

Her brother stood there, clueless, as she did a cartwheel in the snow. Then she spun around about five times, fell down, and made a snow fairy. As she gained her balance again, she started running down the hill towards the house. Arthur was coming outside, and Ginny bumped into him screaming "WINTER IS ENDING!"

-----------------

"I _told_ you it was a bad idea!" Ron said with a small smile. What a surprise: Ginny was sick with a cold.

Ginny frowned. "Bloody snow. I can't wait 'til it's gone!"

"Don't get so excited, Ginny, we saw what happened_ last_ time..."

"Oh, shut up, Ron."

Molly bustled into the room with a bowl of extremely hot chicken soup. "Eat up, dear - and don't burn yourself!"

Ginny grinned, happy to be home and treated like a little girl. "Thanks, mum," she managed to get out before another coughing attack hit her.

"Toldddjjjaaaa..." Ron chirped as he ran out of the room, being chased by a shoe Molly charmed to smack Ron on the bum.

"Is he eighteen, or five?" Ginny asked between slurps.

Molly smiled. Her daughter was back. "When you're done with that, I think you should take a nap. If you need me in here, I'll come."

Ginny nodded. "Okay, mum." Molly began to leave the room, but Ginny called her. She turned around. "And mum? Thanks."

She grinned at her daughter and slowly closed the door behind her. Ginny put her bowl on the table beside her and snuggled into bed, closing her eyes and willing sleep to come.

-----------------

_Pop._

Even half-asleep, Ginny could tell the sound of someone apparating. And by the sound of it... they were _right_ in her room.

"Ginny?"

Ginny's spine straightened. _He is _not_ in my room! I'm dreaming._

"You awake?"

_No, I'm not awake, you bloody prick!_

"I know you are. Come on. Wake up."

Ginny's eyes opened and she growled. "Get the hell out of here, Malfoy. Get out of my house." Draco's back was towards her, and at her words, he turned around. Ginny almost gasped at the way he looked -- his eyes were dark, sullen. His hair, no longer shining and silver, was like dust. For a split second, she felt sorry for him. But the moment was gone as fast as it had come. She wasn't ready to leave yet, to go to a place where it would be dark always. Her winter was just melting. If she went back home, winter would be

"Come back," he said. He sounded so defeated, so tired.

"I thought you were different. I thought you _changed_. I thought you had feelings for me!" Ginny yelled. "How _stupid_ was I?"

"You weren't stupid. I was."

Ginny nodded, her mouth twisted into an un-delightful sneer. "You're right. You were. For thinking you could come in here and bring me home just like _that_." She snapped her fingers.

"I knew you wouldn't come back right away. I wanted to try."

"Then you were even stupider than I thought you were."

It was quiet, their eyes in a silent battle. Ginny's hazel eyes were filled with anger as she glared from his eyes to the door.

Draco shook his head. "I can't believe I came here for _you_. And for what? You won't even come back home."

"That's not _home_. THIS is home. That's just a place of residence."

Draco backed up a bit away from her bed. "You're so not worth it."

"You're right," Ginny said quietly. "But I'm sure Sera's worth it."

"You bloody _idiot_!" he yelled. "I wasn't _with_ Sera! She came in my room! _She_ did everything! You came in just when I was about to stop her!"

Ginny laughed coldly. "Isn't that convenient. You should probably get back, Mrs Porter's waiting for you."

"I bloody told her to leave me alone! I _came here for you._ NOT for bloody SERA! If I wanted Sera, don't you think I'd be out there _getting_ her? Do you know how easy it would be?"

"Yes. I do know. I _saw_ you 'getting her' yesterday."

Draco shook his head once more. "I'm done trying. Have a nice life. See you on your eighteenth birthday." With that, he apparated to _his_ home - not Ginny's.

Ginny looked at her hands as she saw him disappear. She couldn't help feel a bit of sadness as she watched him go, but she kept it to herself. She wouldn't let him get to her.

**_Author's Note: Well... I don't really like this chapter, mainly because I'm sick and I've been sick as I was writing it. So I pretty much feel like shit. That's why poor Ginny is sick, too, haha. But you'll find out more about _ that_ later. Review please!_**

_**PS: I'm deciding on what stories to write once I'm done with this. If you don't mind, can you vote on which you'd rather read?**_

**Title: Deals with the Devil**

**Idea: This time in battle, the trio won't have to fight Voldemort... they'll have to fight one of their own friends.**

**Or**

**Title: The Name of the Game**

**Idea: When Ron has yet _another_ girlfriend, Harry informs Hermione that he's just doing it to make her jealous. So Hermione does the only thing she can do: plays his game.**


	12. Part II, Chapter Eleven: Here's the Rub

_This whole bloody fanfic is dedicated to Missy! Haha._

A bunch of quick updates

1) Being grounded SUCKS.

2) midterms SUCK.

3) I totally stole 'Freckles' from Lost. WHO CARES. SAWYER/KATE IS **REALLY CUTE**! (Not as cute as Jate though! OMG in 'the Moth'...!)

_I hate my computer. I've lost this chapter, so I had to start all over. Then I was grounded and couldn't use the computer. And then I had no inspiration. I hope it's not as bad as I think it is._

**Part II, Chapter 11: Here's the Rub**

_No song! (gasp)_

Ginny was hearing voices all around her, swirling around in green mist. _'You can't hideeee, littleeee girrrrrl...'_ On the floor below her, there was a sea of green, and she carefully lifted up her gown and waded in the emerald water. As soon as her foot made contact with the water, a green snake hissed and began sliding up her foot, then up her leg, then eventually had covered most of her body. As the snake reached for her nose, she began realizing something was off. In a scared, terrified attempt at survival, she clawed at the serpent, but never actually got him.

_'Littleeee girrrrl... I'm alwayssss here, alwayssss...'_

She awoke with a start, tiny beads of sweat gathering on her forehead. _A nightmare. That's all,_ she told herself. She prepared to close her eyes once more, but a strange sound made that impossible. _What is that_? Seconds later her question was answered when a large, green snake slid out from under her bedcovers. _What the..._ It hissed and slithered out of her room and down the stairs. Without thinking, she chased it. What the hell - was that a snake? And why was it in her bed?

It was crawling down the steps, past the empty living room and kitchen. Before it reached the door and slithered outside, there was a large pop. The snake was standing upright, then suddenly it had legs... a body... two arms... a head... long, white hair. A man. _The_ man from the masquerade. Ginny gasped as he turned around, glared, then made an odd movement with his tongue - one that reminded her of the stories about Barty Crouch Jr. The man then blew out, and she could do nothing but fall, fall, fall down the many stairs with a bang. Motionless. Silent.

-----------------

"_Why... Why me?_"

Ron sighed as Molly looked at her sleeping daughter. Ginny's red hair was sprawled out across the white pillows and she twisted and turned in her sleep. She had been murmuring incomprehensible words for the past three hours, but finally she had begun to speak in actual words. She listened silently as Ginny continued.

"_Why did you leave... why aren't I good enough? Ever... ever good enough, ever... Never... How could you? Why would you? I loved you..._"

_Harry,_ Molly thought, thinking Ginny was still broken-hearted about her first love.

"_Why?... Loved you... Why did you hurt me..._"

Ron's fists clenched and he turned to his mother. Molly was about to say something when Ginny screamed out in pain, twisting in her bed.

"_Buy... Buy... Frozen... Candles frozen... Candles frozen... Freeze..._"

Molly gasped. "Isn't _Candles Frozen_ that fairy tale from France?"

"I'm not sure. It might be..."

She shook her head. "I'm going to go buy it... I have a feeling she's trying desperately to tell us something. If she wakes up, be nice." Ron nodded and stared at his little sister as his mother ran to the floo. He grabbed her hand and lightly stroked it, watching as she writhed in pain. He reached out to grab a Quidditch magazine - some brainless stuff to read while waiting. As he began flipping through it, Ginny started murmuring again.

"_Draco... why don't you love me?_"

Ron looked up, fists clenched. "I'll make him bloody pay," he promised, patting her head. "He _will pay_."

An hour later, nothing more had happened. Ginny had finally gotten comfortable, it seemed, and wasn't talking in her sleep anymore. Molly finally returned with the book, tears filling her eyes.

"What happ -"

Molly put her hand up. "Get a calendar. Get a calendar **now**!"

Ron obliged, running to the kitchen and grabbing the calendar. He brought it to his mother and she flipped back and fourth between months, then gasped. She dropped the book and calendar and looked at her daughter, shaking her shoulders. "Wake up, darling, please," she cooed. Ron picked up the book and read a part his mother had highlighted -

_...A little-known fact, however, is that Salazar added something to the curse. Although he told everyone that the Gryffindor would die if not married by her eighteenth birthday, he didn't mention that you had to be married by two months _before_ the eighteenth birthday._

Ron looked at the calendar. It was January 13th... Ginny's birthday was March 14th.

"_Draco..._" Ginny murmured. "_Please..._"

He growled and ran downstairs in a hurry, ignoring his mother's questioning.

-----------------

The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the ice was melting, and Draco Malfoy hated life for many reasons. One was because he had been spineless and practically begged Ginny to come home... and she _still_ refused. Another was because his mum was coming to 'check up' on the 'happy couple.' And the third was because he was laying in her bed.

The covers were over his head and he inhaled her sweet scent, which had been slowly fading due to her lack of presence in the room. He felt like such a bloody retard. What the hell was he doing here? In her room? In her **bed**? God, what was wrong with him? He needed to get up. He needed to shower. He needed to read something, he was feeling illiterate. He needed to shower, because he smelled.

He needed to get her back.

...No, he didn't _need_ her. He... wanted... no. He didn't want her, either. He didn't need or want her! She was useless to him.

Which, obviously, explained why he was curled up in the fetal position under Ginny's covers, wishing she was there with him. _I'm such a bloody..._

"Oi! Prat! Where are you, you bloody little twat? Hmmm?"

Draco sat up in bed. Someone was in his house. Calling him a prat, and a twat! What the... that voice sounded _really_ familiar... He got up and ran down the stairs.

"What the bloody... _Weasel_? What the hell are _you_ doing here? Get out!"

Ron stared at him, then burst out laughing. "What happened to _you_? It looks like you got in a fight or something! Is that... is that four o'clock _shadow_?"

Draco crossed his arms. "_Out_."

"No. Sit down."

Draco was wordlessly pushed into the chair.

"Shut up."

Draco opened his mouth, looking quite like a fish out of water.

"And _listen_ to me, you stupid ferret!"

"You - what the - get -"

Ron didn't bother telling him to shut up; he was already launched into a speech. "You were forced to be with my sister. None of us could do anything about it. It's not like any of us thought that you would be a bloody saint to her or anything - that's just _too_ out of the ordinary. But we did figure you'd have enough brain cells to figure out that if you hurt our sister, we would **kill you**.

"But no! You must not have gotten it - and you must not get it now, the way you're trying to bloody interrupt me. **Shut up**! There. Good. Like I was saying. It's my _sister's heart_ you're breaking. You're not only putting her **life** in jeopardy by not marrying her, but you're **breaking her heart**! She's been out of it for a bloody day-and-a-half, and you wanna know what she's been saying in her sleep? 'Draco, why did you hurt me; Draco, I loved you; Draco, why aren't I good enough?'"

Draco's heart sped up. "Did you... say... putting her _life_ in jeopardy?"

"Yes! Mum bought that bloody... frozen candles or whatever book, and guess what. You two have to be married **two months**_ before_ her eighteenth birthday! Nice ole Salazar Slytherin, eh, always throwing in nice little loopholes? You have **one day** to get your _little ferret arse_ over here before Ginny **dies**. Now, I know you don't love her, and I know you never will. But if you have **any bloody decency**, you will HURRY YOUR FURRY ARSE DOWN TO THE BURROW BEFORE ONE OF US HAS TO DRAG YOU THERE. I may just be forced to send Bill. You've heard about him, right? The whole _werewolf_ thing?"

With a pop, Ron was gone.

"Bloody _hell_..." Draco muttered, grabbing a spare bit of parchment to tell Narcissa that he wouldn't be able to have her visit today - but maybe in a few days.

-----------------

"R_on_ald W_eas_ley! How dare you go to that man's house!"

Ron cringed. He knew it wasn't safe to come home so soon... but he was worried about Ginny.

"Mum - I had no choice, I had to -"

Suddenly he was being smothered in a maddening hug.

"Mum, Mum - I - can't - _breathe_!"

Molly let her son go, smiling. "You've helped so much, Ron. Your sister's going to be _fine_."

-----------------

The sun was setting when Draco arrived at the Burrow, looking around at the shabbiness of it. He unintentionally wrinkled his nose at the immense amounts of dust that was... well... everywhere. _You call this a house?_ he sneered to himself, glancing around once more. He couldn't help but ask himself why the _hell_ he was even at the burrow - in the back of his mind, he seriously felt that Ron was lying just to get Draco over here. He grumbled to himself before shouting out. "Er... hello?"

Molly appeared out of nowhere, wringing her hands and smiling. "Oh! Dra - Mal -" She trailed off, frowned, then shrugged and said "... Hello!"

Draco slowly raised his right hand and cringed - er, I mean, smiled. "Hi."

It was quiet, until Ron came downstairs. "Ginny's... um..." he glared at Draco. "...awake."

"Wonderful!" Molly cried, over-excited. She grabbed Draco's sleeve and pulled him up the stairs to Ginny's room, then lightly tapped on her door. "Gin-bug? Someone's here to see you."

Ginny slowly turned around; she was standing by the window, looking outside. Draco almost gasped when she was fully facing him - she looked awful. Beautiful, yet untame, quiet, and worn. Her red hair seemed limp and thin, her freckles were light and almost invisible, and her brown eyes were lighter, mousier. She glared at her mother.

"Why didn't tell me it was _him_?"

Molly frowned. "Just give him a chance, Gin." She glanced at Draco, who was staring at her daughter. She coughed, then turned back to Ginny. "Come down if you need something." She closed the door behind her, leaving Draco and Ginny alone in odd, embarrassing silence.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking back out the window. She didn't know what she was focusing on, but she made sure her attention was towards it... and not the way Draco looked - like a shell of himself.

"Your brother came to the manor... Said you were sick." He looked at her closely and stepped towards her. "I see he wasn't lying."

She turned to glare at him, and immediately he grabbed her wrists and brought her closer.

"_Come home_."

"Why are you always telling me what to do?" she hissed, trying to get out of his grip. "Why do you think you can control me? What makes you think I'm just going to drop everything and go home because _you _said so?"

"Because I _love you_!"

"That's easy for you to say!" Tears filled her eyes as she backed away from him. "What makes you think that lying about loving me will fix this?"

"That's just it, Gin." He looked her closely in the eye. "I'm _not_ lying. I _love you_."

Ginny shook her head. "What gives you that right? Why do you think you can act like the bigger man when you were the _problem_ in all of this?"

Draco looked down. "I figured we should learn to deal before the..."

"Before the _what_?"

"...Wedding."

"That's not for another year, besides we don't have to -"

"Ah, here's the rub: the wedding is tomorrow," Draco sneered, more than a bit angry at his bride-to-be.

"Wha... Are you... No one told _me_ anything about this!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "That's because you've been unconscious, Freckles."

"Shut up, you," she snapped, pacing. "I can't - I'm not ready - _tomorrow_?"

"Yes, you can - you'll get ready - and yes."

She glared at him. "Why don't you just go shove off, Ferret? You're the one who caused these problems... Why did you have to be born a bloody _boy_?"

"Because it would be a shame to waste such good looks on a female."

She turned to him and emitted a snarl, one that sounded a lot like a wild cheetah about to attack a defenseless gazelle. She stood close to him, looking deep into his scornful eyes.

"You're disgraceful."

"It's the curse talking, love," Draco whispered, smiling condescendingly down at Ginny.

_Stop being so rude. Stop it. Don't let the curse get to you._ "Oh, my God... You're right..." _WHAT? No, you're WRONG! _In a single swishing movement, her hand made contact with his face, resulting in a long, hard slap.

Draco laughed, rubbing his cheek. "Have you been tested for Bipolar disorder, Freckles? You may have it."

"Stop calling me that!" She stepped away from Draco and shook her head, looking out the window for a brief moment of fresh air... and what she saw frightened her. A girl with pale skin, dressed in a long white dress, was sitting in a tree. She had long red hair that blew in the breeze, and her face was void of any emotions. Ginny gasped. "Oh, God. I think... we need to go to the Manor... I may be going... crazy..."

"What? You? _Crazy_? What would make you _think_ such a thing?" Draco said innocently. "Come on. We have some planning to do."

She kept staring at the girl, who was climbing up the tree, never breaking eye contact. Soon, she was but a few branches away, and the girl smiled, then blinked. And in the blink of her eye, Ginny collapsed.

**Author's Note: Well, that sucked! I'm really really sorry. I've been grounded/ungrounded numerous times, I've been busy catching up on 'Lost' (I'm renting the first season. How good was _Confidence Man_? Not my favorite, though - that would def. be _The Moth_ or _White Rabbit_) and I have midterms. Oh, and my computer deleted the _original_ chapter I had for this. Anyway, yeah. Please review nonetheless, and tell me your HONEST OPINIONS!**

**xx, She-who-wishes-she-could-be-called-Freckles**


	13. Part II, Chapter Twelve: Goodbye, Love

**My computer hates me. You're all lucky I love you, because if I didn't, I would TOTALLY not rewrite this whole chapter.**

Part II, Chapter 12: Goodbye Love

_You don't want baggage without lifetime guarantees  
You don't want to watch me die?  
I just came to say_

_Goodbye love  
Goodbye love  
came to say  
Goodbye love,  
Goodbye._

_Just came to say_

_(Glory)  
Goodbye love_

_(One blaze of)  
Goodbye love_

_(Glory)  
Goodbye love_

_(I have to find)  
Goodbye_

- RENT (Goodbye Love)

Ginny was falling quickly down some sort of hole that seemed to have no end. It reminded her quite a bit of Alice in Wonderland as she was falling, impacting the cold, hard ground and soon-arriving death. When she finally did hit the ground, however, it was as if the ground had been softened. Either way, the fall _did _hurt, and she moaned in agony as she rolled onto her back and looked at her hands; scraped. She reached up and touched her head, feeling the sticky sensation of blood.

She stood up carefully, looking around her. It was extremely dark, and she could hardly see her own hand in front of her face. She knew she was outdoors, though, by the wind against her face and the odd noises in the distance. She could feel someone next to her, standing there, whispering, but couldn't see them.

"Wh-Who's there?"

Suddenly, the sound of whispers overtook her, and as the sound became louder and louder, she felt herself slip out of consciousness.

Ginny awoke to the sound of water dripping on the floor; the sound echoed in her ears and shattered the silence that once filled the dark cavern she seemed to be in. Seconds later, ice-cold water was being thrown in her face, and she gasped at the cool, burning agony. She sputtered and gasped, blinking away the water and trying to figure out who her attacker was. She attempted to move her arms, but couldn't; after closer observation, she saw her hands were shackled to the wall, as were her ankles to the floor.

_Holy crap,_ she thought to herself, _I can't see anything, and I'm apparently a convict! What the hell is happening?_

"Hello, Weasley," a cold voice said musically, sounding charming hypnotizing. And although he was using all the charm he could to make her blinded, she knew in the back of her mind that his voice was _evil_. That something about him wouldn't be good in the long run.

And if she ever had doubts about that odd feeling, what he said next concluded she was right.

"Are you ready to die?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What do you mean _she fainted_?" Ron asked, fists clenching.

Draco grumbled. This was getting annoying, these stupid redheaded twats asking him over and over again whether he attacked their bloody sister. He loved her, didn't they know that? -- Well, no, actually, they didn't. And if they did, well... he was sure they wouldn't threaten him with death, they'd actually do the deed themselves.

George opened his mouth, and Draco groaned in anticipation of the twins-completing-one-another's-sentences thing that occurred almost all the time.

"Yeah, don't you mean you --"

"-- knocked her out?"

"Oh, come off it," Draco spat, "don't you think you'd know if I bloody knocked her out?"

In the blink of an eye, Charlie had Draco backed up against the wall, dragon tooth knife up to his neck. "Do you know, you bloody git, how easy it would be to kill you?"

"Do it, Charlie," Ron hissed. "No one would miss the ferret."

Charlie opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Ginny cried out, twisting and turning in bed. She yelled out, something incomprehensible, but still equally unnerving. Everyone was silent as she twisted and turned, then finally settled down. Charlie moved from his position on top of Draco and sat next to his little sister on the bed, lightly stroking her head.

"Listen," Bill said slowly, "although I'm the first to admit that Draco really, really, deserves a nice beating --"

"So then _let's,_" Ron hissed, getting ready to punch.

"-- We have _more important things to discuss!_" Bill spat. "For example... Ginny's life. Sound important to you?"

There was a quiet grunt of approval.

"Well, I think it's best that we stop bloody talking, yelling, arguing -- whatever the hell we're doing -- and start paying attention to Ginny. She's the one we're all here for. Without Ginny, none of this would even be happening."

_She's the one we're all here for... _Draco silently repeated, thinking of just how true Bill's statement really was.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ginny wondered what was happening, though she very well knew what was going on. She wanted to act stupid, blind, clueless -- but it was too unlike her, and it was too far a stretch for a time like this. She knew that death was going to come soon, without anyone even knowing. She was sure she was in her own mind, tied up in odd fantasies and illusions. Her family was probably surrounding her in bed, watching as she cried relentlessly, frowning. And suddenly, she would eventually stop crying. She would eventually fade out.

And then... what would happen? Would there be a moment of silence, or would cry immediately start? Would they begin making plans for her funeral? Would she even have one? Would Draco go move with Sera now that she was out of the way?

Silently she cursed herself for mentioning Draco at a time like this, considering all that was going on. Draco probably wouldn't care if she died. Actually, she was almost positive that he left once she'd collapsed out of fright and was sitting at his mansion right now, counting down the hours until Ginny would be, well...

This man, this strange and mysterious man, was standing across the room, muttering things into a cauldron. Ever-so-often a burst of light would come from his wand, letting Ginny get a glimpse of him. He had long silver hair that seemed to go down past his back, and he had broad shoulders. Eventually she stopped being curious and just screwed her eyes shut, willing the throbbing pain of her back, head, and hands to stop. Her mind began wandering once more, and she couldn't help but think of Draco.

He had said he loved her, and he seemed quite... well, maybe 'truthful' wasn't the proper terminology, but it was something along those lines. He came back to her... No. No, he didn't come back for that reason. He had an ulterior motive. Maybe he learned that _he'd_ die if he didn't marry Ginny, and _that's _why he came?

'_He said he loved you_,' a voice said in her head. '_Just leave it at that._'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Draco sighed heavily and sat next to Ginny, holding her small, delicate palm in one hand and stroking her head with the other. He was alone with Ginny (finally) since her noble brothers were running around like chickens who had temporarily misplaced their heads. At first, it was extremely amusing -- watching a bunch of red-haired blokes freaking out about every little thing did have its light moments. However, soon Draco learned it really _wasn't_ all that funny after all, and decided to help out.

Of course, mimicking the brothers by running around and yelling like a girl wasn't exactly the _proper_ way to help... and it certainly didn't get any of the guys in a _better_ mood. Draco was forced to act serious when Bill barked, "Just sit down and bloody watch Gin, you bloody ferret!" And Draco wasn't one to disobey a werewolf, _especially_ when one was in child-protection-mode.

The only thing Draco could do now was wait. ...And prod around a bit in Ginny's belongings. He continued telling himself it was wrong, and that he shouldn't be doing it, but honestly -- that only increased the desire to _spy, spy, spy!_ So far he hadn't found anything of importance; a letter from Harry dated from Ginny's fifth year, stating how much he loved her. He not-so-silently scoffed and let out a loud 'pssshhh' to which all the brothers looked at him with curious expressions.

About fifteen minutes later, however, Draco finally found something interesting: an unopened letter addressed to Ginny Weasley with no return address. With a sweeping look around him to make sure no one was watching, he tore it open like a child opening a Christmas present he found in his closet without anyone knowing.

_Dear Miss Weasley,_

_I have now been forced to tell you twice to move from Malfoy Manor. If you don't, a disaster beyond your wildest comprehension will occur._

_Do not doubt me, girl. I'm always there. I always watch. I'm in your _mind

_Give the Manor back to its rightful recipients._

_- S.S_

Draco's mouth opened to form a large 'o' as he silently tossed around thoughts in his head. Could all this -- Ginny's leaving, her sickness, her unconsciousness -- be because of this infamous 'S.S'? This man -- apparition -- _thing_ was somehow in Ginny's mind; who knew what was going on in there? There was no one to save her from her thoughts!

He paced around the room, trying to think of a way to help Ginny. Last time Ginny had problems with her 'mind,' she had been sleepwalking. All Draco had to do was touch her shoulder and he was immediately admitted into her dream. Perhaps that could happen again, with much concentration... But it might be dangerous. What if he couldn't come out? What if they were both stuck there forever?

Draco glanced at Ginny's small, fragile body, sadness filling him. To think that someone was inside her head, taunting her, poisoning her... _hurting her_... made him insane. He felt his insides broiling with the thought of someone touching Ginny, making her hurt. It made him murderous.

Without another thought, he sat next to her bed, put both hands on each shoulder, and concentrated with all the strength left in his body.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The man across from Ginny cleared his throat and began speaking, still with his back facing her. "So, Weasley, ready to tell me why you _ignored_ everything I told you?"

Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound seemed to come out. She was petrified.

"Well? I'm waiting."

"I... I don't even know who you _are_ --"

The man turned around and she could do nothing but gasp. "Oh _yes_ you do. I'm sure you've seen me about -- in books, perhaps? I know you've read about me, surely. How could you not? You go to _my school_."

She took an unsteady breath, her heart racing. "Salazar Slytherin."

He turned around, and she gasped, backing up closer to the wall. His face was rotting with age, and he looked much like a corpse who had been left out of its grave for a few days. His eyes and hair were the only things that were intact; silver and vibrant.

"_You called_?" he sneered, mouth opening to show small, jagged pocketknives used as teeth.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Draco found himself walking through a cold forest, slushy snow on the floor, water dripping from the icicles that once were vibrant on the wintry trees. It was midnight in Ginny's brain, and everything was covered in icy roots. He was careful where he stepped, careful not to fall. He was so careful with menial things like walking, but so useless when it came to things of importance... like saving Ginny's life.

_Where the hell are you?_ he asked himself, _Merlin... Where the hell are you?_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What happened to you?" she asked. Her head was throbbing with fear, the type of fear that you get when you think someone's in your house and no one else is home but you. When you're so shook up that your bedroom door is locked and you're sitting in the far corner, holding your brother's old baseball bat and praying no one is there.

He smirked. "It's hard to look so attractive when you're dead. I must admit... it took me a while to put all the pieces back together, but I think I'm pretty good looking. For a corpse, at least."

Suddenly the cauldron bubbled behind him, and the light mood changed. He spun around and began focusing on the spell, and Ginny looked around. _There has to be a way out..._ She muttered. Suddenly, she heard a voice in the back of her heard...

_'Where are you? Merlin, where the _hell_ are you?'_

Ginny glanced around the room. Was someone there...? _Er..._

_'Ginny?'_

Um? This was getting weird. There was _no one there_, yet she was hearing noises. Was fear driving her mad?

_Uh... yes?_

_'Bloody hell... are you serious?'_ the voice responded.

Ginny stared at Salazar. He didn't seem to notice anything was going on...

_Uh... yes? What the hell is going on? Am I dying?_

She heard a laugh in her head. _'Gin! It's me! Draco! Where the hell _are you

Instantly Ginny's mouth broke into an insane grin. She felt like singing, dancing... She never thought she'd hear his voice again. New thoughts filled her head; maybe she wouldn't die... Maybe she'd have a chance... _Draco, I'm in this weird --_

"Don't think about it, Weasley," Salazar croaked from across the chamber, turning around. "I can hear everything you're thinking. You do realize we're in _your brain_, right? Your thoughts? Everything you wonder echoes in my head."

_'What, Ginny? Where are you?'_

Tears sprang to her eyes. Maybe she wouldn't live after all.

"I wouldn't count on it," Salazar sneered with a smile. "And give him any hints -- visuals, anything -- and you're dead quicker. Hear me?"

Ginny nodded slowly, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Now tell him goodbye."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Draco continued wandering throughout Ginny's woods until he finally found something in the distance -- the light view of a castle. There was nowhere else she could be. All she had to do was give him some sign... why wasn't she answering?

_What, Ginny?_ he asked, prodding. _Where are you?_

He heard murmuring in the background, and gasping; he knew that sound. Ginny was crying. _Oh, God._

_'Goodbye, Draco...'_

**Author's Note: I'm sorry! I tried to put this all in one chapter but it doesn't work. I had a whole bunch of ideas to add onto this chapter but I can't add it all in... It gets a bit too congested, you know? Thank you all for your encouraging reviews! I know this was a waaaaay delayed chapter -- I haven't had one out since January, have I? -- but I've been reaaaally busy. Gosh, school suuucks, man! Anyway. I'm DEFINITELY going to have a chapter out by Valentine's day, considering... (Smiles and whistles innocently) Please keep up the uber fantasmic reviews, guys! It makes me write quicker!**

**What I'm planning on writing after Salazar's Curse is finished (tell me what you think)  
**Title: Winter in Spring

Idea: Three years ago, Ginny read in the Daily Prophet that Draco Malfoy had mysteriously vanished after his father's death, and was wanted by Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic for a high ransom. But the situation Ginny's gotten herself in may just make her rethink about those old newspaper articles.


	14. Part II, Chapter Thirteen: Battles

**Quick A/N: Well. Right. Let's just pretend it's not like, a month after Valentine's day. **

Part II, Chapter Thirteen: Battles

_She falls asleep and all she thinks about is you  
She falls asleep and all dreams about is you  
When she's asleep the air she's breathing is for you  
Are why she wants to live_

_She's not got that much more to give_

_Please save me_

_I've been waiting,_

_Been aching for too long_

- McFly, (She Falls Asleep Part 2)_  
_

Ginny looked down at her wrists, which were bleeding profusely due to the tight handcuffs. She arched her back in a weak attempt to stretch, but it was no use; she was too close to the wall to stretch. She tried thinking of something other than the pain she was in - emotionally and physically - but it wasn't working. All she could see in her head was Draco... Draco, who had gone into her mind to save her. Draco, who loved her. Draco...

"_Who shagged his ex-girlfriend while you weren't looking_," a male voice echoed in her mind. She rose an eyebrow; the voice was unfamiliar. That could only mean one thing...

Someone _else_ was in her mind. This couldn't be good for Draco...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"BLOODY HELL!" Draco yelled out loud as he, once again, tripped over his own feet. "Bloody rocks! Bloody hill! Bloody trees, bloody darkness, bloody wind, bloody..."

"...Nose, if you don't shut up soon," a small voice said from behind him.

Draco gripped his wand and spun around. "Who's there?" he whispered, though he could see no one.

"You don't expect to see me in pitch darkness, do you? Hello, _lumos_?"

Draco grumbled. "_Lumos_." The person who he saw when the light filled the area, however, was not who he expected. He was thinking of some sort of scary monster who would try to, I don't know, murder him. But what he saw instead was a twenty-or-so year old woman with long red hair and silver eyes. For a moment, he thought he was seeing Ginny... but no.

"Who the fuck are you?" he spat.

She cringed. "Language..."

"_Tell me who you are_ or I will **curse you into oblivion!**" yelled Draco.

She extended her hand. "Elye Slytherin, nice to meet you."

Draco was too stunned to speak.

"Alright, not going to shake then, I understand," she said stiffly as she put down her hand. "There's no time for polite banter anyway. We've a girl to save."

Suddenly Draco found his voice. "Not _a_ girl," he added, a bit protectively. "_My_ girl."

Elye rolled her eyes. "Right. Anyway, right now Salazar has her. Which, _obviously,_ is not the greatest thing to ever happen."

Draco shifted on his feet. "And why's that?"

"Don't you know _anything_?" she yelled. She took a deep breath. "We're going to have to talk while we walk, okay? Time is quick and it's flying away."

They walked in silence for a bit, the only sound being the occasional brush away of a branch. Then, Elye started to talk.

"Salazar and Godric were always arguing. That's what I've heard, at least; I've never met them. Anyway, Salazar and Godric both want their relative to end up 'winning.' Which... well, means surviving. Salazar's going to be trying as hard as he can to make things difficult for Ginevra so _you _can survive. I'm sure he's been messing with her since you both arrived in France.

Then, Godric's going to be messing with you, also. He wants you to become distanced from Ginny. They were both doing this - their little mind games - in hope that one of you would give up, not get married, and die. But you both had to go and fall in love, which changed things up a bit. Suddenly neither of you had any thoughts of giving up, or leaving. I daresay, I think both of you were looking _forward_ to getting married.

But, Godric and Salazar couldn't have _that_, could they? I mean, who wants to _tie_ when you can _win_? Although I'm not sure how, Salazar made Miss... Porter want to gossip with her friends in the _exact_ spot where Ginevra was standing. You didn't think that was coincidental I hope. The world isn't _that_ small, after all. Anyway, something was planted in her mind. Something that, upon looking at you, made her want to _get_ you. No offense or anything, but Miss Porter was pretty... _alright_ with her marriage. Though she wasn't the most trustworthy person, she didn't cheat. Until she saw you, however.

Godric tried - he really did - to make things work out for Ginevra. But he just wasn't quick enough. Salazar had already planted the seed in Miss Porter's mind. And that's when -"

"I think we know that part of the story," Draco interjected, not willing to hear more about the big, stupid mistake he was in the middle of making with Sera when Ginny walked in.

"Alright then," she continued. "What else do you want to know?"

Draco thought for a moment. "Were you the baby crying?"

Elye smiled sadly. "I've been trying to get you two together..." She trailed off. "But that's not the point right now. We can't bother talking about what _I_ did. We need to worry about Ginevra. She's the one we're here for. Once we get to her, all you have to do is touch her... and you'll be out."

"Yeah, okay..." Draco said slowly, heart suddenly very heavy._ "She's the one..."_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Are we there yet?"

Elye looked at Draco. "Are you really asking that?"

"_Yes_! I need to get to her before tomorrow, or -"

She shook her head. "I know the story, Mr Malfoy."

Draco blushed. "Oh. Right."

There was a rustling in the distance, and the sky grew noticeably darker. "Listen, Mr Malfoy. This isn't a good sign. I think something's going to happen -"

Elye's face darkened ominously, and Draco tightened his grip on his wand.

"You've got that right," a man said, smiling viciously.

Elye stepped slightly in front of Draco, protectively. "Godric," she breathed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fred wandered the halls and called out, "George? Have you found any ice packs? I can't find any, and I'm getting bloody..." He trailed off as he saw his twin standing in the doorway of Ginny's room, staring open-mouthed. Within a moment, Fred was wearing the same expression.

"Whaddya think he's doing, then?" Fred muttered, watching as Draco paced the room, one hand on Ginny's shoulder, the other on his wand. Every now and then his wand would glow.

"Um..." seemed to be the best response George could think of.

Charlie wandered in the room. "What the hell are you two doing, standing about? We have to... Hey... what's he doing?"

"Good question," Fred said slowly, eyes following Draco around the room.

Suddenly, Draco screamed out a spell, flicked his wand, and Ginny's _Weird Sisters_ poster burst into flames.

"Bloody hell!" George yelled. "Oi! Bill, Ron, look at this!"

The brothers came over, looking confused.

"Get ready for a show," Fred said with a smile. "Anyone care to bet for what he sets on fire next?"

"Ha-ha-ha," Bill said dryly. "Very funny. Now, would anyone care to explain to me why Draco Malfoy is running around the room, _touching Ginny on the shoulder_, cursing posters into oblivion?"

Silence.

"Well, at least we know what's going on." Ron sighed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The battle seemed to begin immediately. Usually in movies and books, the villain had a few taunting things to say, a monologue. But with Godric, there was none - just a quick spell sent towards Draco, knocking him off his feet. Elye could hardly react in time before Draco was being cursed by '_crucio_.'

"Stop!" she yelled. "Stop it!"

He reluctantly stopped. "Hello, granddaughter. We meet at last."

She shook her head. "Don't punish him."

"And why shouldn't I? He is, after all, of _disgusting_ blood."

"So am I," she whispered. "Punish me for him."

He laughed dryly. "That's not going to work, sweetheart. It's not the same - at _all_."

Elye crossed her arms. "This silly fight has _got_ to stop. Can't you see you're ruining two beautiful lives? Why don't you just get rid of _me_ instead?"

"Stop, Elye - what are you doing?" Draco yelled out.

Elye threw a look at Draco that spoke more eloquently then any words she could have said. Draco immediately shut up.

"Well," Godric said, continuing as if Draco hadn't said a thing, "That would be a bit hard, considering you're already dead, don't you think?"

"_Grandpa_, haven't you noticed? We're in someone's mind - anything is impossible. Here, it's _very_ easy to be killed."

Draco gulped. He hadn't heard about that.

Elye continued. "So just take me in exchange for Draco."

Godric shrugged. "_Avada Kedavra_." And Elye fell to the ground in a tumble. Godric grinned. "Now, your turn."

Draco looked at Elye's fallen body sadly. That was the last straw. He gripped his wand, pointed it at Godric, and smiled back.

"Scared, Slytherin?"

He grinned. "You wish."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Salazar's cauldron bubbled incessantly, then stopped. Salazar grinned, holding up a small vial of some sort of potion.

"Remember that question I asked you earlier? When I first met you here?" Ginny didn't answer, so he continued. "_Are you ready to die_? Well, I'm asking again. Are you?"

Ginny opened her mouth to yell something disgusting and mean at him, but a scream echoed the room - the most pain-filled scream of agony. The silence that followed was too much to take, and she shuddered. _Draco? _she thought desperately, but received no answer. Her eyes filled with tears. She found it hard to catch her breath, and her heart felt as if it were shattering. The oddest hot gust burst through the room and Ginny's small body, which only seemed to will more tears. She took a breath, bit her lower lip, and looked up at the ceiling.

_Draco, please, answer me_! she begged. _Please, don't be dead, please!_

Salazar smirked. "It doesn't matter if he's dead (which he probably is.) You're going to die now, too, so I guess that just breaks _Gryffindor_'s bet."

She opened her mouth to say something once more, but no words could come out; only the saddest sob.

Godric killed Draco. Ginny's mind kept replaying the words in her head: _Godric killed Draco. Godric killed Draco. Godric killed Draco._ The words spun in her head so fast until it sounded like _Godrickilleddracokilledgodrickilleddracokilledgodric. _Her mind's eye flashed back to the moments between she and Draco...

_He opened his door to go and get Ginny and say thank-you, but found she was already in his doorway, poised to knock. It was silent as they looked at each other, saying nothing. Ginny looked down, and Draco took the opportunity to surprise her with a small, gentle kiss. As they broke away, Draco couldn't help but smile as she blushed heavily._

_They got closer, closer, closer, before their lips were touching. Ginny felt as she were flying, someplace else. Was she having an out-of-body experience, or was this just kissing Draco? Although many questions buzzed through her mind - how did he know about Daniel and Gemma, how dare he read my book, why aren't I angrier - she couldn't focus on one. She couldn't think about anything other than the way his lips on hers made her feel._

_Somehow they had found themselves outside on the balcony of L'Opera. She was leaning against the cold, solid wall, and their breathing was shallow, quick, and yet so delayed. She had been kissed before, she had kissed him before. But this... this was mind-blowing. It felt as if she were having an asthma attack, and she broke away, breathing heavily._

_She turned to glare at him, and immediately he grabbed her wrists and brought her closer._

_"Come home."_

_"Why are you always telling me what to do?" she hissed, trying to get out of his grip. "Why do you think you can control me? What makes you think I'm just going to drop everything and go home because you said so?"_

_"Because I love you!"_

_"That's easy for you to say!" Tears filled her eyes as she backed away from him. "What makes you think that lying about loving me will fix this?"_

_"That's just it, Gin." He looked her closely in the eye. "I'm not lying. I love you."_

She couldn't live without him. She knew she couldn't, wouldn't.

"Kill me," she whispered. She looked down and let her hair cover her face. "Please."

Salazar smirked and stepped close to her. "All you had to do was ask." He lifted her head with a finger and she kept her eyes screwed shut, breathing heavily. Salazar brought the glass bottle up to her lips and tipped it slightly. He was about to give her the whole bottle when the door was blast open. Salazar turned his head and gasped in shock as he saw Draco - bloody, but very much alive.

He didn't say anything, but jumped out to grab Ginny. Salazar saw what he was trying to do and quickly tipped the bottle just enough for a bit of the potion to touch her lips. Immediately she fell back, unconcious

"Gin!" He yelled, reaching out for her. He knew all he had to do was touch her, and they'd be free... they'd be okay... But Salazar stepped in front of him, smirking.

"Hello, Malfoy."

Draco looked at him and narrowed his eyes, sneering. "What did you do to her?"

"What she asked me to," replied Salazar, the wicked grin never leaving his face. "You just came a bit too late."

Draco shook his head. "You bastard," he spat, stepping forward, wand drawn. "You killed her!"

"She's not dead," Salazar said tiredly. "But only just. Another slip of my bottle and she will be. And then, we don't have to worry about -"

"There is no _we_! In a minute, there's gonna be a me and her. But there will be no _you_. We are not partners in this."

Salazar smirked. "That's what you think."

Draco shook his head. "That's what I _know_."

"Well then," Salazar said with a shrug. "I do hope you're prepared to battle for her."

"I've been waiting all night."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Oi! Look, it's getting good!" Fred yelled, pointing. He was seated in a kitchen chair, along with the rest of his brothers, eating popcorn as Draco pounced around the room, blasting up various pieces of Ginny's room. Bill was the only one who seemed to have a problem with this, and was continually flooing to St Mungo's to make sure Draco wasn't having some sort of epileptic fit.

"What d'you think he's doing now?" asked George.

Draco was hiding behind something, then jumped out and yelled in pain. He cringed and fell to the floor.

Suddenly the spectacle wasn't as funny to Ronald.

It was hilarious.

"OH, MERLIN!" Ron laughed, slapping his leg and wiping away tears caused from laughter. "This is better than any comedy show on WW - _owww_!"

Bill had slapped Ron - hard - in the back of his head.

"Shut up, you bloody git!" Bill yelled. "Can't you see he's in terrible pain? Nothing to laugh at!"

Draco finally stopped twitching. He growled, yelled out, and flicked his wand once again.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" he screamed.

Charlie gasped. "DOWN, EVERYONE!"

The brothers fell to the ground, hiding behind objects and holding their heads for protection. The spell was sent in a cold gust around the room, then mushroom-clouded out through the ceiling. Bits and pieces of plaster and wood fell down with loud, clamorous noises. Dust filled the room, and the brothers coughed to clear their lungs and swiped madly at the air.

"MERLIN'S BEARD!" Mrs Weasley screamed, running upstairs with her husband. "What happened? Who yelled the curse?"

Mr Weasley took in the sight ahead of him. "Bloody hell..."

Suddenly, through the fog and musk, Draco took his first real deep breath. He was now on top of an unconcious Ginny, crying lightly, holding her.

"What happened?" Mrs Weasley yelled once more, upon receiving no answers. She ran up to Draco. "What's wrong with her?"

"Get us to a hospital!" Draco commanded through hardly noticeable tears. "_Now_!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's Note: Okay! So! How to explain my long, long, long, long, _long_ absence? Lots of computer problems, school stuff, and... Yeah I don't have a good enough excuse for you all. And I left you with a terrible cliffhanger once more, didn't I? Quite sorry about that. Anyway, thanks to everyone's persistent reviews. Please review on this chapter! I'd like to receive more reviews on this story than my other, Broken. And don't worry... At the latest, another chapter will come by Thursday.**

**Xoxo, Elizabeth**

**  
PS: Next chapter may be the last one, so send LOADS of reviews to make me update faster. (Wink)**


	15. Part II, Chapter Fourteen: Exmortis

**Thanks to all the reviewers! There were a lot of reviews but i'm going to answer a few people who had questions/amusing comments:**

**I'm Blond. James Blond. - **YES, that would make me update faster. Hehe! Cute name by the way!

**Mizlovegood - **Cute site! Not all the links are working for me but that could be because of the computer I'm on... I'll try visiting from the school accounts though! hehe put my education to good use.

**sidlovesnancy1979 - **thanks! haha... yeah I've gotten quite a lot of reviews like that, and I think at the end I may have a special post-Salazar's-Curse chapter. I'm not sure about a sequel yet though. We'll see (Smiles)

**Sabrinarocks - **Aw thanks! I think chapter 9 was one of my favorites to write hehe. About the Libba Bray comment... I've checked her livejournal, and apparently there is going to be a third book! I'm not sure when it will come out though, and I think it's called the Winterlands. I don't know but if there will be, I'm sure I'll mention it in the author's note of whatever fanfic I'm writing, hee.

**TheDevilsSeductress** - hehe, you'll find out about the whole in-her-mind thing in this chapter!

**HaliJade Snape** - (Blush) you flatter me, hee. Here's your chapter by Thursday!

And thanks to everyone else who, as of now, put me past my most-reviewed story! YOU ALL ROCK!

**Now on with the chapter hehe.**

**Part II, Chapter Fourteen: Exmortis**

_Your eyes, as we said our goodbyes  
Can't get them out of my mind  
And I find I can't hide  
From your eyes  
The ones that took me by surprise  
The night you came into my life  
Where there's moonlight, I see your eyes._

_How'd I let you slip away,  
When I'm longing so to hold you?  
Now I'd die, for one more day,  
Cause there's something I should have told you  
Yes there's something I should have told you  
When I looked into your eyes..._

_Why does distance make us wise?  
You were the song all along.  
And before the song dies...  
I should tell you, I should tell you  
I have always loved you...  
You could see it in my eyes!  
_- RENT (Your Eyes)

Draco glared at the mediwitches, who were busily wrapping his chest, hand, and shoulders. "Why the bloody hell are you working on _me_? Go fix her!" He yelled, pointing at an unconcious Ginny Weasley, who was already being helped by several mediwitches and wizards by the bed next to him.

The nurses didn't answer; instead, they finished up, then went off to help Ginny. He half-smiled smugly, then reached out to lightly touch her small, freckled hand. None of the brothers, not even Ron, bothered to say anything rude to Draco about touching her. He had gone through too much.

"It's odd," an older man, who Draco supposed was the best doctor in the joint... or, at least, had better been the best, was saying. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her."

Draco scoffed caustically. "If there's nothing wrong, why is she unconcious?"

The doctor frowned. "That's the problem. She seems to be trapped in her own mind. It's a very likely side affect of..."

"Of?" prodded the Weasleys plus Malfoy.

He looked down. "Exmortis."

"Exmortis?" Mrs Weasley repeated frantically. "What the **bloody hell **is -"

"Careful, Molly," Arthur muttered lightly, patting her hand.

The doctor fixed his spectacles and looked at the group. "Exmortis is Latin for 'undead.' Unlike living, being undead is being physically here, but mentally... somewhere else. Much like a coma, but much more serious. Few people ever come out of Exmortis."

"And what would cause this Ex... ex... mortis?" asked Molly, wringing her hands.

"A curse of some sort. It's usually caused by a very powerful witch or wizard over a long period of time, and most of the time the victim doesn't even realize she or he is being subjected to it until it's... well, too late."

Molly let out a strangled sob.

"Too late?" replied Arthur wearily. "When is it too late?"

The doctor pointed his wand up at the ceiling, and the ceiling turned into a large beeping device, with charts, graphs, and lines. "When the beeping becomes one long beep, and when the up-and-down lines become one straight line."

Ginny's parents and brothers murmured their understandings and asked ridiculous questions, but Draco couldn't have any part in it. He tapped his foot impatiently and waited for one of the brothers to finish their stupid question. When he couldn't wait anymore, he interrupted Fred (or George, he still wasn't sure) halfway in a sentence.

"Yeah, that's fine and everything, but why can't I just... go in her mind again?" he asked.

The doctor frowned. "First of all, I disagree with that in the first place. And secondly, in Exmortis, the mind is closed off from any entrance. It's kind of like the brain is in the process of 'cleaning up' your mess."

To this, Draco wasn't exactly pleased. "Excuse me? My _mess_? If I didn't go in there and make a 'mess' Ginny wouldn't even _be_ here to _be_ in Exmortis!"

"You can't be _in_ Exmor-"

Arthur shook her head and spoke up for the first time that evening, "Excuse me, but I **_agree_** with Malf... Draco. He saved my little girl, and for that I will always be grateful. He gave Ginny another chance to live, and it is my firm belief that if he hadn't gone in her mind, she would _not_ be here."

He took a deep breath, then continued, speaking to Draco; "I may have a horrible past with your family, and we may come from completely different lives. But I see now that you are what my daughter needs in a husband."

It was silent for a moment.

"I second that," Molly agreed. "Ginny loves you... and you seem to be very much in love with her."

Draco gulped uncharacteristically. "I love her more than anyone will ever be able to comprehend."

Upon hearing this, Bill turned to the doctor fiercely. "You better get her fixed," he growled, "or you'll have a werewolf _and_ an angry Malfoy on your hands."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ginny's eyes fluttered, and she slowly gained consciousness. The first thought that popped into her head was, _oh, my aching head._ The second, shortly received after the first, was, _oh, Merlin, Draco!_ The last thing she remembered before being knocked out was her begging for death, followed by the sound of explosives. What the hell had _happened_? Where was she? What happened while she was floating in darkness?

"Ginevra! Thank Merlin!"

Ginny opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a pair of bright green eyes staring back at her. They were unfamiliar, and so she jumped back, alarmed.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" She looked around; she seemed to be in a sort of prison cell. "Where the hell am I?"

The eyes (who belonged to a strange woman) smiled sadly. "I'm Fayebris," she said, extending her hand through the bars of the cage. "It's lovely to meet you."

Ginny whimpered lightly. "Why am I here? Why are _you_ here? Why aren't you DEAD?"

"You're trapped in your mind," Fayebris responded, "and we've come to help you out."

"_We_?" Ginny repeated. "Who's we?"

"Andasar and I. He's trying to find another way out, but the only way we can leave your mind is if you give up all thoughts. Every one. _Especially_ the ones about Draco."

Oh, hell. Why did she have to mention Draco? What was wrong with him? Did he die? Was he hurt terribly? Was Godric still roaming someplace in her head, and Draco's body was lying around, lifeless eyes looking up at the darkened sky? Her heart grew sick. Why did the horrible things always happen to her? The love of her life, the one man she can see herself being with... dead. Ginny's eyes felt wet, and she let a tear trickle down her cold, pale, dirty face.

"Is he okay?" asked Ginny hopefully.

Fayebris frowned. "I'm not allowed to tell you, Ginny. You just have to worry about breaking that wall down, and to do so you have to have your complete attention focused on that. Nothing else. Not your family, not your health, not Draco. Nothing. Okay?"

Andasar appeared behind Fayebris, face grim. "There's absolutely no way out." He pointed to a brick wall in front of the trio. "That's the only way."

Ginny looked at Andasar. He looked so much like Draco it was shocking.

"Focus, Ginny. _Focus_."

It seemed like an easy task. Stare at the brick wall, try to make it go away by thinking _really _hard. But clearing your thoughts of everything you love - your family, your friends, your boyfriend (who may or may not be dead), et cetera made it a bit more challenging. Every time she would be making progress - she moved a brick, or she got tunnelvision and could only think of the bricks in front of her, she would catch a glimpse of Andasar's eyes.

The eyes that belonged to Draco.

And she was done for.

There was a loud, long beep. "Ginny, hurry," Fayebris prodded, jumping up and down anxiously.

She tried to think of nothing but the wall... but all she could think of was how rude she had been to Draco. She'd been cold - colder than his ice-blue eyes - and yet... he still did _everything_ to save her. She felt the prickle-like sensation behind her eyes, and knew the tears would be shortcoming.

But one more look at Andasar, and it was decided.

Draco was alive.

She didn't know why she thought this, and she didn't know how she was so certain, but she was almost completely positive. Maybe it was because when you're in love, it may take a while, but you just _know_. Or maybe it was because she felt Draco out there, somewhere, calling her.

It didn't matter, because either way she was breaking down that wall once and for all, to get to him.

And so she focused.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Molly and Arthur were seated next to each other on a rather uncomfortable-looking couch, staring at their daughter. Fred and George were sitting by a table, legs on top of one another, looking down at the ground. Bill and Charlie were pacing. Ron was sitting in a chair, head in hands. They all seemed to be following along blindly to the doctor's orders: watch, listen. But to Draco, something about it didn't seem right.

The beeps were too far away, or too close, or something. Maybe the lines were too straight, or maybe to jagged. He didn't know, but something was a bit fishy to Draco.

He stared carefully at the ceiling, watching as the lines went up, down, up, down, up, down... down... down... and never back up. He listened as the beeps went from quick, to slow, to so far apart that he thought he had gone deaf. And then, suddenly, the lines were straight, and the beeping sound was one, long, monotonous drone.

Molly froze, her hand gripped on Arthur's. Ron's head popped up in a flash. Bill and Charlie stopped in their tracks, and the twins stared, faces (for once) not filled with laughter.

The doctor came almost immediately.

"What happened?" he asked, flicking his wand this way and that as the scene on the ceiling changed with every movement.

Molly stuttered, "I don't know - nothing really - she was just -"

The doctor checked her pulse from her neck, then from her wrist. Then, with another flick of his wand, the beep stopped. The lines disappeared.

"She's gone."

"No!" Molly yelled out, falling to the ground. "No! Please, no!"

Arthur stood, frozen, rooted to the spot as he lightly cried into his palm.

Draco shook his head fiercely. "**You're lying**!" he yelled manically, pushing the doctor out of the way and looking at Ginny closely. He ignored the nurse's calls of, "no, you'll get hurt!" and stood over her. She looked so hurt, so quiet, so pale. Ghostly, even. There was no color in her face except for the bluish tinge of lack of oxygen.

"No..." Draco whispered. "No, no, no..."

He was being pulled away somewhere. They needed to do something to her body. But he yelled, pushed people out of the way, and cried out. He didn't care how crazy he looked, because he_ was _crazy. The mere thought of living without Ginny was making him insane.

"Get away from her!" he screamed. The nurses were surrounding her, and he could only see a bit of her face: her mouth.

They were still pulling him. He was getting farther and farther away now, and his view of her mouth was getting tinier and tinier.

And then her mouth opened wide. Her hands gripped the blanket and she writhed in her bed. Her eyes opened and she choked, trying to catch her breath. She gasped once, twice, three times... and there she was. Awake. Breathing. _There_.

"DRACO!" she yelled, looking around madly. "Where is he? Where?"

Draco wordlessly ran over to her, pushing away the nurses and doctors who stood, dumbfounded. He ran to the side of her bed, looked at her, and then let himself lightly cry.

"Oh, Draco," she whispered before pulling him into the sweetest kiss either of them ever had.

**Author's Note:** **Nope! Not the last chapter! There's officially ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! Hopefully that one was a pretty good one, eh? The next one might be a bit short... I don't know. This was a bit of a filler. KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING, OR MY COMPUTER MIGHT JUST 'BREAK' AGAIN. (Evil grin) Bribery? What? Blackmail? Who, me? Pssshhh! No waaaaay. (Hehe)**

**xox, Elizabeth**

**PS: I've decided on my next story after S.C. - "If I Fell." (Title pending, but summary will stay the same.) Info next chapter!**


	16. Part III, Of the Future: A Year

_Author's Note: Final chapter! AH! I know it's REALLYYYY quick and short, I'm really sorry. And I know the song is like majorly long but...deal with it! hehe._

**Part III, Of the Future: A Year**

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes,_

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Moments so dear._

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure, measure a year?_

_In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights_

_In cups of coffee_

_In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife._

_In five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure_

_A year in the life?_

_How about love?_

_How about love?_

_How about love? Measure in love_

_Seasons of love. Seasons of love_

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes!_

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Journeys to plan._

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand_

_Six hundred minutes_

_How do you measure the life_

_Of a woman or a man?_

_In truths that she learned,_

_Or in times that he cried._

_In bridges he burned,_

_Or the way that she died._

_It's time now to sing out,_

_Tho' the story never ends_

_Let's celebrate_

_Remember a year in the life of friends_

_Remember the love!_

_Remember the love!_

_Seasons of love!_

- RENT (Seasons of Love)

Ginny sat at an empty table, rubbing her feet. It had been quite a night, filled with dancing and festivities, and now most of the crowd had gone to watch the fireworks, that would occur till exactly one in the morning. Ginny smiled to herself, recalling the day exactly one year ago, before she knew what love was, or that Draco was the one she was meant to love. Before the drama of girlish tea parties and ex-girlfriends.

She laughed slightly. How much had changed.

For one, when she went to the ball last year, she had gone to get _away_ from Draco. Now, she had gone to spend the whole time with him in his arms, where she belonged. Last time, she was loathing the thought of marrying Draco... Now, she was enjoying every second.

"Excuse me, Miss Malfoy, may I ask for your hand in this dance?"

She snapped out of her reverie and looked up. Draco bowed down dramatically, then poked his head up to look at her, smirking.

"I don't know..." Ginny said, faux-nervously. "My husband might find out..."

Before she knew it, Draco was twirling her on the empty dance floor.

Ginny laughed and spun out of his arms, then was pulled back in. He lightly held her stomach as they danced to no music. As they danced, Ginny's mind flashed backwards, through everything they had gone through. A year... it seemed like such a miniscule bit of time. Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes seemed like nothing in the long run when so much had gone by.

She looked into Draco's frozen eyes and a smile appeared on her face once more. The man who she had once loathed, who she had attempted to beat up, who she yelled at, the one she wanted to kill rather than marry, was now the man she couldn't live a second without.

_My only love sprung from my only hate._

A young blonde witch around sixteen danced past them with a young redhead, glaring at the boy with fierce intensity. He said something that made her crack a grin, but she quickly covered it up. Ginny glanced up at Draco and laughed.

"We were once like that," she whispered. "Can you believe I once hated you?"

Draco looked down. "Yes. I was horrible to you."

"Draco, please don't," Ginny said quietly, lifting his head up with a finger. They had stopped dancing and now stood in the middle of the floor, motionless. "Please don't apologize for anything you've done. There's no need."

The fireworks seemed to die down, and without question, the pair went out to the balcony of L'Opera to count off the seconds until the new year. The fireworks began to fade until it was complete darkness in the pitch-black sky, and instead of the constant boom of fireworks, the murmuring of the audience filled Ginny's ears.

Suddenly, in the sky, fireworks formed the number '10,' and the audience seemed to play along, counting off with each number out loud.

"_Nine! Eight! Seven!_"

Ginny touched her stomach lightly and smiled up at Draco nervously.

"_Six! Five! Four!_"

She took a deep breath and clenched her fists.

"_Three!_"

"Draco," she yelled over the crowd.

"What?"

"_Two!_"

She took another breath. "I'm... pregnant."

Draco froze, looking down at Ginny in astonishment.

Ginny shyly looked up at her husband, worried if he was mad, or regretful. But instead of seeing a look of disappointment, she saw the hugest grin of pure happiness she had ever seen on anyone's face.

"_One! **HAPPY NEW YEAR**_!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -

_Author's Note: That's it! What a way to end, eh? I know it may suck, and I'm very very sorry about that, but I just wanted to end it. I knew I wanted to end it with Ginny being pregnant, but it wasn't until I heard "Seasons of Love" in Art class that I thought of doing it this way. What do you think? Please send some final feedback! Thanks to all you fans who have made my story the most reviewed out of all my fanfics. You all rocked! Hope to see you soon (meaning, reviewing my new fanfic)_

_Bye!_

**New Fanfic Ideas. Always subject to change:**

1) DEALS WITH THE DEVIL -

SUMMARY: THIS TIME, INSTEAD OF FIGHTING THE ENEMY IN THE WAR, THEY WOULD BE FIGHTING ONE OF THEIR OWN.

2) IF I FELL -

SUMMARY: AFTER THE WAR, A DEPRESSION HITS THE WIZARDING WORLD. WHEN HER FATHER LOSES HER JOB AND MONEY'S RUNNING THIN, GINNY'S ONLY CHOICE IS TO GET A JOB WORKING FOR THE ONE MAN WHOSE MEMORY SHE WISHED WOULD FADE...


End file.
